The Brainiac and The Gentlemen
by Mary.Sweets
Summary: SakuSasu AU - In order to not pay the rent, four guys agree to turn the landlady's brainiac granddaughter, Haruno Sakura, into a proper young lady in just a few months. They'll do it for free rent, she'll do it to step out of the box.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is slightly based on the series, _The Wallflower_. I like the anime, and thought it would be nice to do a story slightly similar to it (key word: slightly) So, I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own.

* * *

**The **Brainiac and** The **_Gentlemen_

_**T**__he __**G**__entlemen._

They had been called to the family room by their landlady, the owner of the prestigious mansion, and world famous (retired) Anesthesiologist, Haruno Asako. The sixty-four year old woman sat across the four teenage boys with a serene and yet slightly serious expression. The boys couldn't help but to feel slightly anxious and eager to know why she had called them in such short notice – they hardly saw her around the house.

"Thank you for joining me gentlemen," she greeted.

"I swear landlady-san, I didn't do it! I didn't do it!!" A blond quickly said, thinking the worse.

"Idiot, calm down." The onyx haired sitting next to him hissed, visibly annoyed by his friend.

"There's no reason for your nervousness Naruto-san, I did not call you because I'll be asking you to leave," – the atmosphere around the boys calmed – "Rather, I called you all here because I need all of you to do me a…_huge _favor."

"Will you be leaving again Haruno-san?" A pearl eyed young man asked respectfully. His long brown hair was kept tied at the end.

Asako lightly nodded her head, "Yes, I'll be going to the Americas and Europe,"

"For how long?"

"Several months," Asako sighed, "I'll be visiting different places around those lands, seeing old friends, and whatnot," she took a deep breath, "During those months my granddaughter will be staying here, and while she stays here I would like for you four to help her become a real lady."

"What?!" Naruto blurted out.

The onyx haired glared at Asako, "We are not some kind of _make-over _team Haruno-san." The others nodded in agreement.

"If you succeed in doing so," Asako continued, ignoring their complains, "You will not pay the house rent anymore…"

House Rent: Five-Hundred Dollars.

"Deal." They said in unison.

* * *

"I wonder how she looks like…" Naruto said, sitting on the couch _un-gentlemen-ish_, "'think she's pretty?"

"If she needs a make over, I doubt it," A black haired one, better known as Nara Shikamaru, said, tiredness and boredom all over his face, "This is so troublesome, we have to give someone a make over to get free rent."

"Not paying that amount of money every month is worthy of such trouble," The pearl eyed one, known to everyone as Hyuuga Neji, said.

"I think it will actually be fun!" Naruto said cheerfully, "Don't you think so Sasuke?" The blond looked at his friend, who had been looking out the window for now four minutes, grinning from ear to ear.

"No," Naruto's grin dropped, "Having _you _around the house is annoying enough."

"Oi shut up!" Naruto retorted, "_You're _the annoying one! Always _hning_ and _tsking_." Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"Hn." The youngest Uchiha watched as Asako walked out of the house with her handbag and made her way to the car where he driver waited with the door opened. "Asako is leaving." The others moved to the window to watch the car slowly retrieve the residence.

"Landlady-san said the other Haruno is going to arrive in a few hours…" Naruto said, as if reminding the others.

"Yes, Naruto have you cleaned the mess you made in the kitchen?" Neji asked.

"Argh!! Noooo." and with that, Naruto quickly ran out of the room.

"I'll do a background check on her, see what she's like." Neji informed and walked out; ignoring the weird looks the other two were giving him.

"…_blah_." Shikamaru lounged on the sofa and closed his eyes, while Sasuke coolly walked out and went to his room.

* * *

_**T**__he __**B**__rainiac_.

A light yawn escaped her pink lips. _I'm so tired_, she thought, fighting to keep her emerald eyes open just to make sure she arrives at her grandmother's house in one piece. She couldn't just take a nap – as much as she wanted to – in a taxi, who knows what this total stranger could do!

_I don't even know why grandma wanted me to stay at her house for such a long time. Well maybe to take care of it while she's away, but as far as I know other people live there as well_. She yawned again. _Damn it shouldn't have stayed all night studying. _

"_Please, turn her into the flower she's meant to be." Asako had told the boys dramatically.  
_"_She used to be a _lady_?" Neji asked.  
__Asako shook her head, "Her name's Sakura."_

The taxi drove past the main gate and drove through the circled driveway, stopping in front of the two front doors. Sakura stepped out, inhaling the fresh February air and looking at her surroundings, her long pink hair, which was held in a high and neat ponytail, flew with the wind.

"Where's everybody?" she asked herself, raising her glasses with a finger. Normally her grandmother would come out with all of her house workers and warmly welcome her, and even if her grandmother was away, at least the workers would come out, but today…nothing. Only the chirp of some birds.

"Miss," the taxi driver called. He had taken her luggages out of the trunk.

"Oh sorry," The pink haired took out her wallet and paid the taxi driver for the ride. She made her way to the front doors with the red luggages and slowly opened one of the doors. "Hello? Anyone home?" the door fully opened and the young girl's eyes widened.

**

* * *

****1**  


* * *

One sat on the stairs tiredly, another stood against a railing coldly, and two were standing in front of the stairs– one smiling cheerfully and the other seriously.

And the pink haired stood by the door _completely_ dazed_._

"Hi…" Sakura said her voice barely audible.

"Welcome Sakura-san." Neji nodded in acknowledgement. Sasuke eyed the pink haired up and down – baseball tee with red sleeves, jean capris, and a pair of red Moon Boots.

Sakura took a defensive step backwards, ready to run off if she had to. "Who are you? And why do you know my name?"

_She doesn't know?_, Neji thought.

"Oh I forgot!" Naruto spoke out of the blue; he took a paper out of his pockets and gave it to Neji, "Landlady-san left that in the kitchen!"

_Dear Gentlemen,  
__Sakura doesn't know who you are or what you will do with her, please tell her – kindly.  
__Cordially,  
__Haruno Asako.  
__P.S. Please Naruto, clean up the mess you made in the kitchen._

Neji let out an exasperated sigh. Sasuke growled and smacked Naruto on the head.

"You couldn't give us that note earlier dobe?!" He yelled.

"Oi I forgot teme!" Naruto rubbed his head, "I was doing what Landlady-san told me to do!"

Shikamaru yawned, "Just tell her…"

"Landlady…?" Sakura said lowly, "So, you are the ones living here?" They all nodded their heads. _Wow, grandma sure knows how to pick them…_, never in her entire life had Sakura seen such…_handsome_ young men all in the same room. Even in the middle of realization and confusion, she couldn't help but to notice how good looking they were – and even more, that she was going to live them.

"I'm Hyuuga Neji." His eyes were pearly white, his hair was long and brown, and he was probably six feet tall – or maybe a bit shorter.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" His hair was blonde and spiky, his eyes were electric blue, and he was as tall as Neji – probably an inch or two shorter.

"Nara Shikamaru." His dark hair was held in a high ponytail, his eyes were dark as well, and he was also tall.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" His onyx hair was spiky on the back and straight on the front, his eyes were onyx as well, and just like everyone else, he was tall.

"And we are your mentors," Neji said. Sakura gaped, not completely comprehending what he meant by 'mentors'. "Your grandmother, Asako-san, asked us to help you become a real lady during your stay in the house."

_Oh…_, Sakura, to the boy's astonishment and confusion, started chuckling – truly trying her best to control her temper. She looked at them and cracked up a fake smile.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all," she started saying.

"Sa-Sakura?" Naruto said, however Sakura continued.

"I believe I can still catch that taxi." She nodded her head and turned her heel quickly. _I can't believe grandma would keep trying! Damn it, why can't she just leave me alone?!_, the pink haired thought at the verge of tears. She looked around for the taxi or someone, _anyone,_ that could drive her away and back to the train station. But alas, no one was around.

Sasuke angrily took hold of her left wrist, turning her to face him.

"I don't need your help!" Sakura yelled, "So just, _leave me alone_!!" Sasuke seemed to not be taken back by Sakura's words. His expression was as cold as ever, his eyes held no emotion whatsoever, and he was truly annoyed with her.

"You dress horribly, your skin is dry, your hair has split ends and it's as dry as your skin," An unwilled tear rolled down her face as she stared with astonishment at Sasuke.

"Sasuke-teme you are—!" Neji extended his hand in front of Naruto, who was ready to move toward the two and stop Sasuke.

"And let me just guess, you are too busy studying to take notice of this shit and the social world around you because you only see the future," Sasuke said. He let go of Sakura's wrist, "You can do whatever you want for all I care, but don't think I'll take pity on you." And with that said, he walked inside the house, leaving a speechless group by the door.

Before Naruto could approach the pink haired and comfort her, Sakura quickly ran inside the house and up the stairs to the comfort of her bedroom. She slammed the door shot and locked it, before sliding down the door and on the floor helplessly, trying her best to control the tears that rolled down her face.

_Don't cry!_, she scolded herself, wiping off all of the tears and finally controlling them. She took a deep breath, reclining her head against the door.

"Why is she always trying to do that?" she asked herself. She took off her glasses and set them on the floor next to her, and even without them she could see perfectly. Sakura stood up, took the glasses and walked over to the full mirror in her lilac, and big, bedroom.

Sasuke's words circled her head again and again as she looked at her reflection.

"_You dress horribly, your skin is dry, your hair has split ends and it's as dry as your skin."_

She got closer to the mirror and eyed her skin for a few seconds before pouting, "I don't see anything wrong with my skin…what a bastard."

* * *

"Jeez teme, did you have to be so harsh?" Naruto asked Sasuke. They were in the kitchen; Sasuke sat at a two person table with his feet on top of the table, Shikamaru sat across him, while Naruto sat on the counter and Neji stood against the counter with his arms crossed.

"Hn." The Uchiha replied carelessly.

"Naruto get your butt off the counter people put food there." Shikamaru ordered slightly annoyed and disgusted. Naruto stuck out his tongue and didn't move.

"Which reminds me," Neji spoke, "What are we going to eat today? And who will cook it?"

"Shotgun to Ramen!!" Naruto quickly yelled.

"No." everyone replied sharply; Naruto glared back at them.

Neji sighed, "We've eaten ramen four nights in a row…"

"It's troublesome…" Shikamaru commented. Naruto glared at him and started yelling at him with something among the lines of, "_Ramen is great!" _and "_Shut up you lazy-ass_", while Neji completely ignored him and thought of what they should eat.

"Problem is that none of us are that great when it comes to cooking," he said. ("_You shut up Naruto!!"_) Neji looked at Sasuke, "Do you know how to cook?" Before the Uchiha could answer Naruto roared in laughter, holding his belly tightly.

"Teme! Cook?! Hahaha…" He laughed. Sasuke glared at Naruto and threw the nearest thing to him to the blonds' face – his own shoe.

"Not much, Tomato Soup…?" Sasuke answered. Neji shook his head, not feeling the appetite to eat tomato soup, or any kind of soup, at the moment.

"I can make Gyudon!_(1)_" Naruto said, throwing the shoe back to Sasuke, intending to hit his pretty face and scar it forever, who caught it with one hand easily. Neji seemed thoughtful for a second before nodding his head.

"Alright Naruto, make five Gyudon bowls," he ordered, "I believe our guest upstairs must be hungry…" Naruto happily nodded and jumped off the counter.

--

Sakura's stomach growled, interrupting the deep silence in the room.

"_Nooo_, keep it down…" she said to her stomach, setting the book she was holding aside and embracing it. _I'm so hungry…_, at this thought the stomach growled again. "I should go to the kitchen and--" _NO! Sakura stay inside this room, protest! Make a protest! _

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, "Yeah! I'll stay inside!" and despite the fact that she had a slight stomachache and the growling continued, she picked up the book and kept reading.

--

Sasuke poked the food with his chopstick, staring at it as if it were something from another world – along side Shikamaru and Neji. Naruto stood next to the table wearing a white apron and holding a wooden spoon, waiting for the boys to start eating.

"_Well_," Naruto tapped his foot impatiently.

"It looks…" Shikamaru trailed off, looking for the right word – _horrible_, he thought. "_Not_ like Gyudon." Naruto glared at him.

"Naruto, are you absolutely and completely sure that you know how to cook this?" Neji asked, "I do not wish to die of food poisoning."

"'Course I know guys!" Naruto said, slightly offended.

"It doesn't look normal." Sasuke said monotonously, still poking it.

"'Cause it's called Naruto Gyudon! I have my own way of making it!" Naruto grinned proudly. At this, the three boys pushed their plates away from them.

"Let's order pizza." Shikamaru suggested, and the three calmly walked out. Naruto's mouth fell wide open, _now_ he was offended _and_ mad.

"_FINE_! I bet Sakura-chan will eat it!" he yelled, "…AND LIKE IT!" he added shortly after. He took hold of the tray and stomped out and up the stairs.

_She must be _really _hungry_, the blond thought, letting his imagination take over his mind, thus imagining Sakura all drained and unhealthy for not eating in such a long time. He quickly took notice of her luggages still in front of her door. Shortly after she had ran inside, Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto had carried her luggages upstairs. _Teme was harsh on her_, he thought sadly, remembering Sakura's tears and face.

"Sakura-chan!" He called, "I brought dinner!"

Sakura's head quickly snapped up and locked on the door, one because the person behind it added the suffix _–chan_ to her name, and two because the person behind it had brought dinner - _food_.

_Don't answer! Stay put!_

Her stomach growled, pleading her to open the door.

_Shut uuuup! _

Her stomach ached…badly.  
"Ugh." The pink haired stood up and walked over to the door. She unlocked it and opened it, revealing a cute blond with food and luggages. "Naruto…"

Said boy grinned and invited himself inside her room, "I brought food, thought you'd be hungry," He placed the tray on top of her queen sized bed, "It's a Naruto special! The Naruto Gyudon!!" he said proudly. Sakura walked over to her bed and sat on it, pulling the tray closer and staring at the food weirdly.

"Err, thanks Naruto…_kun_." She said awkwardly. Naruto grinned and sat down cross-legged across her.

"No problem! The guy's were really mean and stupid, you know? They said it looked weird and Sasuke-teme kept poking it, and Neji was all '_I do not wish to die of food poisoning_'" His voiced had lowered when imitating Neji, making Sakura giggle. Naruto stared at her, admiring the girl's smile and how pretty she looked when her eyes cringed. Sakura quickly took notice of the boy's stare and without thinking placed the chopstick (with food) inside her mouth, and began chewing.

"What do you think?!" Naruto gasped eagerly.

"It's…actually _good_." She ate some more. _Wow_, she thought astonished.

"HA! YEAH!" Naruto cheered, throwing his arms up in the air, "And those idiots are eating pizza, _psshhh!_ Wait till I tell 'em!" He ran to the door and opened it, but before running out he turned to the pink haired and smiled, "You look really cute when you smile Sakura-chan, so don't cry anymore."

Sakura kept her gaze locked on the spot Naruto had been standing on, rewinding his words over and over again in her head, unable to believe it. Nevertheless, her lips went up in a small smile and she felt nothing but gratitude for the loud mouthed blond – _Thanks Naruto-kun_.

* * *

Shikamaru let out a loud yawn as he flipped through the channels lazily, unable to find something interesting. Next to him sat Sasuke, who had both arms and legs crossed and his eyes closed, Neji sat at the end of the sofa typing on his laptop, and Naruto sat on the floor cross-legged and playing with his Game Boy – since he preferred old school things.

"Argh." Naruto groaned and gritted his teeth while playing.

Sakura walked in and cleared her throat, getting all of their attention. _Don't look at him_, she reminded herself and tried her best to not look at Sasuke – no matter how incredibly handsome he was.

"I didn't have an opportunity to introduce myself so, I'm Haruno Sakura," she said, "And I accept you as my mentors." And smiled.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

(1) Gyudon: Gyudon (beef bowl) is a popular domburi dish consisting of beef and onion served over a bowl of rice.

A/N: Just to make is clear this **is** a SakuSasu story, so don't worry about the slight NaruSaku part this chapter had (though it _was_ cute :p) **Please Review** and tell me what you think and if I should continue or not. :)

_Mary_.


	2. Chapter 2

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen _

7:15 am

"Sakura-san…" Neji whispered, gently shaking her.

Sakura slightly moved her head, "Fdjiown blah blah…" she mumbled and rolled to the other side, giving Neji her back. The brown-haired boy sighed and looked at the rest of her bed, three opened books lay on the other side and a few papers were scattered around. He took out a small, black notepad and started writing quickly. He hid it and rubbed his temple, before huffing.

7:17 am

"Sakura-san, wake up– _now_." He did not bother to shake the pink-haired girl; he was getting annoyed– _very_ annoyed.

Sakura's eyes slowly opened. She saw a window, and white curtains… and some light shining through them. A small smile formed on her lips, _Good morning Sakura_, she thought, oblivious to the irritated guy standing behind her. She rolled on her back, and immediately her eyes grew wide and a loud scream echoed through the house.

"**_KYAAAAAA_**!!"

* * *

**2**

* * *

"**AAA**—!"

Sasuke and Shikamaru's attention was taken away from their cereal.

"— **AAA**—!"

Naruto sat up on his bed abruptly.

"— **AAA**!"

_Punch._

"_Ouuuh_!" Neji clenched his nose tightly. Sakura covered her mouth and gasped loudly at what she had just done.

"Oh my God Neji I'm so sorry!!" She quickly stood up, intending to help him in any way she could. However, Neji extended his hand and halted her, not wanting any aid whatsoever.

The door swung open and Naruto ran in, wearing his blue pajamas, with Sasuke and Shikamaru behind.

"Sakura-chan—!" Naruto's eyes immediately traveled to Neji, who was holding his nose tightly, and he managed to catch a glimpse of blood rolling down his hand.

"What the…?" Sasuke murmured.

Naruto roared in laughter, holding his belly tightly, "NEJI GOT PUNCHED BY A _GIIIIIRL_!" he laughed. A deep red blush covered Neji's cheeks at this comment. How dare he? He was Hyuuga Neji for Christ sake! No one punches Neji – _no one_. And whoever does, never gets away with it.

…but she _will _get away with it; because she's a girl.

"I'm really sorry Neji…" Sakura repeated, holding the bottom of her red shirt. Neji ignored her and stormed out of the room, glaring at Naruto as he walked out.

"Hahaha, nicely done Sakura-chan!" Naruto gave her two thumbs up before walking out, still chuckling. Shikamaru sighed and followed the blond out, mumbling something along the lines of "_Tr__oublesome…" _and "_Running up the stairs._"

Sakura's eyes suddenly met with Sasuke's for a brief second before he bluntly turned his heel and walked out, closing the door behind him. She glared at the white door and huffed.

"Bastard…" she raised her chin and walked to her bathroom.

* * *

Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji– with a small band aid on his nose– stood by the stairs, patiently waiting for Sakura. While waiting, Naruto's stomach had started growling and he decided to make himself a sandwich.

"Tsk," Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance. _Not only is she a drama queen, she also takes longer than all of us getting ready_, he thought irritatedly.

"Women are troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, "and this one takes even longer than Ino." Naruto joined the three with a ham and cheese sandwich in hand.

"Remember," Neji spoke after hiding the little black notepad, "Do not tell her anything until I say so; let her act and dress as she wishes for the time being." The others nodded.

The night before, the four gentlemen had discussed what their first move would be. After a lot of arguing, smacking (Naruto, of course)– and having a small brainstorm, they came to the conclusion that they'd first watch how Sakura was, how she dressed— even though the first sight of her fashion sense wasn't a pleasant one— and how she interacted with others. And although none of them, especially not Sasuke but with the exception of Naruto, was looking forward to it, they'd have to do it – free rent.

"Sorry for taking long." And alas Sakura finally walked out. The four boys looked up and at the pink-haired girl.

The second fashion encounter wasn't a very pleasant one either.

Black pleated skirt, white blouse with black vest, black penny loafers, hair tied very neatly in a high ponytail, with her usual square glasses, and finally… **black panty hose**.

"Well, let's go!" she said cheerfully once she had skipped down the stairs, standing in front of the four speechless teens. She slowly gasped at the sandwich Naruto held, for she hadn't eaten anything, "Oh, Naruto-kun, can I have a small bite?" she asked hopefully.

"Er… uh-huh…" Naruto slowly nodded his head, and Sakura happily took a bite before going outside.

"Interesting…" Neji took out the notepad again and wrote in it as he walked out.

_What the hell?_ Sasuke thought stunned, Shikamaru sighed, and Naruto mouthed a long, "_Woooow…"_

_They didn't say anything,_ Sakura thought as they walked down the house's path toward the main gate, _I guess I _do _have some fashion sense_, she tried hard to hide a huge smile and a squeal. Sakura wasn't really the type to care much about appearances, as long as she was clean, but she had never expected for what she wore to be "_in_".

_But_…

"Neji-san," Sakura called, "Does it hurt?"

Naruto snorted and roared in laughter, "Hahahaha!"

Neji glared at the blond, "Shut up Naruto."

* * *

Fire Leaf Academy was one of the best schools in the country with one of the very best education systems. Most of the students were from wealthy families, and few got scholarships like Haruno Sakura.

"_Wooow_…" the pink-haired girl stared at the campus and the four-storey building in pure awe.

"You've never been here Sakura-san?" Neji asked. Sakura shook her head.

"I've heard and read the academy's history and its one hundred and fifty years of tradition, but I never got around to actually seeing it," she explained, staring at everything and everyone. _Wow, everyone here is good looking…_

The four gentlemen walked through the main gate, Sakura following them, dazed by her surroundings. She heard murmurs and squeals all around, distracting her.

_What the…?_ Soon she noticed that most girls were squealing because of the four gentlemen in front of her– her mentors. However, as soon as she noticed who were squealing, she felt thousands– truly no more than forty– pair of eyes on her. Some looked curious, wondering who she was, some glared wondering why she was with them or if she _was_ with them, but the majority looked her up and down and saw nothing more than a mere commoner whom they could make fun of from now on.

Sakura inhaled deeply, telling herself to ignore them, but her gazed automatically lowered and she kept walking behind the boys, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke had noticed how uncomfortable she was.

The main hall was long and very neat; the floors were white, and each classroom door was brown.

"Where's our homeroom?" Sakura asked.

"They'll guide you to your homeroom," Neji said, referring to the other three boys. Sakura nodded, although she was a little confused as to why Neji said '_they_' and not '_we_'. "I must go now." With a nod, Neji turned on his heel and walked away.

"…why isn't he coming with us?" Sakura asked.

"He's a year older." Sasuke answered, putting his hands in his pockets.

"_Oooh_…"

"Yeah, come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto grabbed the girl's hand eagerly – _I swear I heard the entire female population gasp!_ She thought a bit alarmed, as she was dragged by the blond. They were unaware that a shy girl with midnight blue hair stood sadly by her locker staring at their locked hands.

In no more than fifteen seconds, they had gone up the stairs and to their classroom.

"Our homeroom teacher is Kakashi-sensei," Naruto explained as he dragged Sakura down a row. Countless pair of eyes were staring once again– staring at their hands.

"N-Naruto…" the blond halted and looked over his shoulder, "You can let go now…" He looked down at their hands and chuckled, releasing hers.

"Sorry about that Sakura-chan," he smiled. Sakura smiled back weakly, trying to ignore all of the stares and murmurs. She sat down on the chair nearest seat to her, which was right in the middle, two seats in front of Naruto and next to Sasuke, while Shikamaru sat in the back.

_Stop staring at me_, she pleaded mentally, wishing the class could hear her.

"Ignore them…" Sasuke said monotonously, looking straight ahead with his arms crossed at his chest.

"Hm?" Sakura looked at the boy sitting next to her, she glared at him, "I thought you weren't going to take pity on me."

"I'm _not_ taking pity on you," Sasuke said scornfully, glaring back. "I'm just telling you to ignore them, that's not taking pity– even the idiotic blond knows that."

"Ugh, you're such a bastard," she hissed, crossing her arms.

"Freak," he replied carelessly.

"Ugh!" Sakura huffed, and she decided to ignore him. _Why should an asshole have such a beautiful body?_ She thought.

"Good morning, everyone." The students settled down at the arrival of the teacher; a grey haired young man with dark eyes. "I believe we have a new student among us. Please raise your hand," – he looked down at a piece of paper – "Haruno Sakura."

Sakura shyly raised her hand, ignoring the stares and glares.

"My name's Hatake Kakashi; I hope you enjoy it here." He smiled before leaning against his desk coolly to stare at every student sitting in front of him. "So, who did it?"

Sakura was at complete loss on to what he was talking about. Though she figured it must've been a prank or something of the sort, because of various smirks and giggles around her.

_Please don't say my name…!_ Naruto lowered his head as much as possible, trying to avoid Kakashi's eyes.

"Naruto." He called.

Said boy stood up frustrated and threw his pencil on the desk, "Aw, _come on_!" almost everyone in the classroom burst in laughter at the boy's reaction.

"Detention after school." Kakashi said point-blank.

"Fine!" Naruto plopped down in his seat with his arms crossed, scowling.

Kakashi smiled and walked around the desk. "Now that that's settled, let's start class…" Sakura opened her history text book as Kakashi instructed, reminding herself to ask Naruto what he had done.

**X**

**X**

"Why did the war begin in the first place?" Kakashi asked the class. Sakura eagerly raised her hand for the fifth time in a row; she was completely oblivious to various glowers from other students. Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"Because they wanted more land, and in their eyes Konoha was the best place to rule." She answered and smiled.

"Exactly," Kakashi smiled back, "And why was Konoha the best place to rule?"

She raised her hand for the sixth time. "Mostly because of its land. It was the perfect place to plant food, and there was a river nearby, so there was a source of water."

By the ninth time, people were murmuring about what a suck-up Sakura was, and the pink haired was completely oblivious to it all.

By the tenth time, Sakura was oblivious to their growing dislike of her.

And by the eleventh, she was officially their target.

* * *

Neji's fingers tapped his desk robotically, his expression stern and serious. He took the black notepad and flipped it open again to read its content. After a few seconds, he took his pen and wrote some more things, unaware that a brunette with buns quietly stood behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"What are you writing, Neji?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing," he closed the notepad calmly, though truthfully a bit startled, "that should interest you, TenTen." The brown-eyed girl furrowed her eyebrows and stood straight with her arms crossed.

"Right," she rolled her eyes. Quickly and smoothly, she snatched Neji's notepad and flipped it open.

"TenTen," Neji stood up, "You know how much that bothers me– give it back," He ordered.

TenTen ignored him and calmly looked through the pages. Her heart started beating faster after every page, all having to do with the same person.

_Haruno Sakura; Haruno Asako's sixteen-year-old granddaughter. _

_- studies till late._

_- does not wake up early_

_- takes long getting ready__. . . _

Her mouth went dry and she felt her cheeks getting warmer by the second.

"I-I don't know what should I be more worried about," she started. "The fact that ___you_have details about some girl written in a notepad, or…" she looked at Neji, "… should I be worried about Sakura? Seriously, Neji, are you stalking her?!"

A light shade of red covered Neji's cheeks and he snatched the notepad out of TenTen's hands, "Don't say such nonsense, TenTen."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be on the same page with you here," TenTen said defensively, taking a seat next to Neji. "If you _are_ her stalker, I'm afraid I'm —"

"I'm not her stalker!" Neji yelled angrily.

"Alright, relax." TenTen chuckled, and decided to drop the subject, even though she was still curious and confused about him having details on the girl. One thing's for sure, in her ten years of friendship with the Hyuuga, he had never done such a thing– as far as she knew– and she had never felt so insecure regarding him.

_Relax, TenTen_, she reminded herself, trying as much as possible to lower the heat in her cheeks as the teacher walked back inside the room.

* * *

Sakura opened her locker tiredly. After three morning classes, she wanted nothing more but to sit somewhere and eat the bento box Naruto had made that morning as a '_congratulations for punching Neji' _gift. As she grabbed the red box, a few giggling girls pushed her and kept walking, laughing at her.

"Ugh, stupid air-headed snobs…" Sakura grabbed the bento box angrily and slammed the locker door shut.

As the classes continued, Sakura had begun to take notice of their snorts and how some of them rolled their eyes whenever she spoke. Nevertheless, she kept ignoring them and did what she was best at – being the smart one.

"I don't think I want to go to the cafeteria…" she told herself, stopping in the middle of the crowded hallway. She then noticed a door with the word '_Roof_' on it. A light smile formed on her lips as she opened the door.

**X**

**X**

Naruto joined Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru at one of the cafeteria tables, with a bowl of instant ramen.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" he asked, noticing the girl was not around. Sasuke shrugged and ate some of his sushi.

"I thought she was with you." Shikamaru said. Naruto shook his head.

"She walked out of Kurenai's classroom really fast," he commented, "She looked a bit uncomfortable…"

"Did something happen?" Neji asked.

"Tsk…" Sasuke grunted and ruffled his hair.

**X**

**X**

Sakura gently stepped onto the roof. Sudden wind moved her long pink hair, and the sun's rays warmed her skin.

"Finally, I'm—" Her words trailed off when she noticed that she was not alone. Sitting against one of the railings was a girl with long midnight-blue hair and pearly eyes. _Just like Neji's, _Sakura acknowledged, _Maybe they are related…? _

"Mm, can I join you?" Sakura asked. The girl lightly nodded her head and her eyes gazed elsewhere. Sakura smiled and quickly made her way next to her. "Thanks, I really don't feel like going to the cafeteria."

"…"

Sakura placed the bento box on top of her lap and opened it. She gasped at how organized and delicious everything looked, and didn't hesitate to grab something and taste it.

"Oh…" she swallowed, "Wow! Naruto really knows how to cook!" The pearl eyed girl's head quickly snapped back up, and she looked at the bento box on Sakura's lap.

"D-Did Na-Naruto really make y-you that?" She asked sadly. Sakura nodded happily and ate a rice ball. _I knew it, I knew it! _The girl's eyes started getting watery, her worst fears becoming reality.

"It's funny how the others can't cook and they immediately conclude Naruto's cooking is horrible by just looking at it," Sakura smiled, oblivious to the girl's watery eyes.

_Ask her Hinata, just ask her, nothing bad is going to happen, the worst thing she can say is a… a yes_, Hinata lowly inhaled and closed her eyes.

"Sa-Sakura-san…" Sakura looked at the other girl curiously because she had called her, surprised that the she knew her name. Hinata's cheeks were covered by the deepest shade of red, "A-Are you… are you da-dating Naruto?" she kept her eyes closed, waiting for Sakura's answer. Her heart was sure to pop out of her chest any second.

Sakura swallowed the rice ball in her mouth. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before smiling gently. _I get it_, she thought.

"No, I'm not dating Naruto-kun." She answered. Hinata's eyes suddenly opened, and a huge wave of relief ran through her.

The roof's door swung open and out stepped a group of girls, the one in front being a redhead with glasses. She looked at Sakura and Hinata and smirked.

"Here she is!" she said cheerfully, the four girls behind her laughed.

"Oh no…" Hinata muttered as Sakura stood up.

"Who the heck is this?" Sakura whispered. Hinata stood up close behind Sakura.

"T-That's Karin…" The pearl eyed girl replied, her voice barely audible.

"I'm going to say this as quickly and simple as possible," Karin began, "I seriously don't want to be seen with a _loser_ like you—"

_What? Oh… oh hell no_, "Don't worry; I don't want to be seen with a _bitch_ like you." Sakura replied, Hinata gasped and looked at Karin.

_Oooh no…_, she thought, fearing Karin's next move and silently pleading Sakura to shut up.

"What did you call me?" Karin glared.

"S-She di-didn't say a-anything…" Hinata lowly stuttered, hoping that Karin would ignore Sakura's comment and leave.

"Shut up, this has nothing to do with you!" Karin yelled. Hinata took a defensive step backwards, regretting that she had opened her mouth.

"Don't yell at her!" Sakura yelled back, taking a step forward, still in front of Hinata.

"You little—!" and just when she was about to run toward to the pink-haired girl, the door swung open and through it rushed in Naruto, with Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru close behind.

"Sakura-chan!— Hinata!" Naruto's eyes traveled from one girl to the other worriedly, and at the same time slightly surprised to see the two of them together. Hinata lightly blushed at the sight of Naruto.

"What's going on?" Neji asked, walking over to the two girls.

Karin immediately looked at Sasuke, "Sasuke-ku—"

"Leave." Sasuke curtly ordered, giving her one cold glance before looking at Sakura and Hinata. Sakura, as angry as she was with Karin, noticed how she reacted to Sasuke's words. Maybe, just maybe, Karin was hurt. However, all of that changed when Karin glared at her, showing nothing but hatred for the pink-haired girl in her eyes.

"Let's go." And with that, Karin walked out with her group.

"Are you guys alright?" Naruto asked, looking from Sakura to Hinata and back.

"Yeah, we're fine…" Sakura answered. Hinata gulped and nodded as her gaze lowered.

"What happened Hinata-san?" Neji asked the girl. Sakura looked at Neji and Hinata, whose name she now knew, and even though she was certain they were relatives, she noticed how distant they looked.

"Oh, mm, we w-were eating lunch and th-they came lo-looking for Sakura…" she briefly explained, never looking at Neji straight in the eye.

"Those girls are trouble…" Shikamaru sighed, ruffling his hair.

"I suggest you stop answering all of the questions during class." Sasuke said; Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru nodded in agreement. Sakura gasped.

"What? _Why_?!" _That's just impossible_, she thought highly panicked.

"The more questions you answer, the angrier they'll get, and the more you'll be bullied." Neji explained.

"But…I – I love answering questions…" Sakura whined.

"Just don't." Sasuke said curtly, earning a glare from Sakura.

"Yeah Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "Some people here are nuts."

"Including you," Sasuke added carelessly.

"**HEY**!" Naruto yelled. Hinata smiled at his spontaneous attitude, loving that he was not afraid to be himself. Naruto jumped on Sasuke's back, intending to choke the raven-haired boy, thus making Sakura laugh.

"Naru-to… get off me!" Sasuke said, struggling to throw the blond off his back. Shikamaru sat on the floor against one of the railings and closed his eyes. Neji stood against the railing with the black notepad and a pen, while Sakura held her belly tightly as she continued laughing.

_Haruno Sakura; Haruno Asako's sixteen year old granddaughter. _

_- studies till late._

_- does not wake up early_

_- takes long getting ready_

_- has an odd sense of combination_

_- whines_

_- seems to enjoy being bullied_

_- stubborn_

_Positive Aspects:_

_- is easily amused_

* * *

After Lunch

_Don't answer the questions, Sakura, don't answer the questions!_ She felt light headed, her mouth was dry, cold sweat ran down her forehead, she struggled to keep her eyes locked on the teacher…

"Does anyone know why?" Asuma asked.

_Oh _**_GOD_**_!_ And for the fifth time, she slammed her forehead on the desk.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry for taking rather long updating; school has officially taken over my life. But, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, really, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it – and I also hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll update as soon as I can! :)

_New Beta Reader: _danielie.

**Please Review!**

_-Mary._


	3. Chapter 3

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen_

It had all happened too suddenly (for her liking).

She always liked things to be organized.

She disliked surprises; she disliked lies.

She was _Haruno Sakura_, a soon-to-be "_proper_" young lady.

A (misunderstood) brainiac among (good looking) gentlemen.

* * *

**7:10 am **

_I don't want to stand up…_ she thought tiredly with her eyes still closed; lying on her bed in what she thought were _the_ perfect position and spot. She hadn't studied that night, but she wanted to catch up on sleep that she'd lost because of studying on other nights.

The tiredness came in, and she lightly smiled, knowing she was going to be on cloud nine in three, two—

_SNORE!_

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she quickly looked to her right. There was Uzumaki Naruto, sleeping like baby on _her_ bed. Her lips trembled and she growled.

"NAARUUTOO!!"

The blue-eyed boy angelically woke up. "Huh?"

_Punch!_

"**OW**!"

Lately, she'd been punching people as a '_good morning_'.

**

* * *

3**

* * *

**8:15 am**

"Oh my, Uzumaki-kun, what happened to your nose?"

A girl and her three friends gasped as they stood around Naruto's desk, staring at his swollen nose with worried, slightly disgusted eyes. Hinata glanced up from her desk and covered her mouth at the sight of Naruto's nose.

"Well, _someone_—" Naruto glared at Sakura's back, and said girl stiffened feeling several people's eyes on her— "punched me this morning!" The four girls gasped and glared at Sakura.

Sakura turned around in her chair and glared at Naruto. "You know perfectly well why I punched you! Don't make me look like the bad guy here!"

"B-But I had a bad dream, Sakura-chan!"

By now everyone in the room was silent, staring at the two teens as they argued.

"You didn't have to come to _my_ room and sleep on _my_ bed!"

Several students began whispering at this, some glaring at the pink-haired girl.

"But…"

Naruto's lips trembled; melting some of the girl's hearts.

"… y-you're the best sleeping partner, Sakura!"

Their hearts turned to pure fire as they glared deeply at Sakura. Sakura's eyes opened wide as a deep red blush covered her cheeks.

"That sounded so wrong," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

"NARUTO!!" Sakura yelled, throwing her eraser at the blond before turning around and burying her head in her hands.

Now she knew she was definitely not going to have a peaceful day. Sooner or later someone was going to do something because of Naruto's big mouth giving a complete misunderstanding.

She heard murmurs around her as everyone settled in their seats at Kakashi's order. Glares that she didn't deserve came at her from most of the girls in the class.

_Relax Sakura, if something happens you'll just explain everything to them. They'll understand, _she thought before raising her head. She told herself that they weren't going to put her down and that she had to be strong.

"Okay everyone, let's talk Spring Festival," Kakashi sighed.

Many murmured in excitement about the upcoming event.

"As you all know each class is going to do something, and we still have not decided what we're doing, let alone who the class leader is going to be."

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to suck up her pride.

"Hey, what's the Spring Festival about?" she whispered, leaning towards Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the pink-haired girl with cold eyes that pierced right through her. He let out a short sigh through his teeth and sat up straight.

"It's the festival that celebrates the end of the year. It's held on the last day of school after the ending ceremony," he said, turning his attention back to Kakashi. Sakura nodded back and sat up straight as well.

A blonde in the front of the room raised her petite, charm-bracelet-covered arm before standing up. Sakura could only see her back and her light hair held in a very high ponytail.

"I nominate myself for the position of the leader," she said and sat down again, giggling with the girl who sat next to her.

"Alright, would anyone else would like to nominate themselves, or someone else? Or does anyone have an objection to Yamanaka-san being the leader?" Kakashi asked. A girl raised her hand eagerly.

"I nominate Sasuke-kun!" she said, and an immediate eruption of giggles came from most of the girls in the class.

"No." Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes with annoyance and quieting everyone. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Well then, I guess Yamanaka-san is the leader."

Said girl quickly stood up and turned around, facing the class. Sakura couldn't help but admire the girl's beauty and the fact that she looked like a real lady, wearing make-up and jewelry, things she herself never used.

"Alright, you maggots!"

… or maybe she wasn't _that _much of a lady.

"I want everyone to come here after school, and when I say everyone, I mean _everyone_." She gave a dangerous glare. "If you have something planned, cancel it, I don't care! We're going to be here for hours if we have to!"

"But Ino, we have tennis practice and you've never missed one…" the girl next to her reminded her. Ino's body froze looking at her for a second before she turned back to the class.

"Think of ideas when you go home, and we'll talk about them on Monday!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome woman," he murmured, hiding his head between his arms and finally dozing off.

* * *

The morning classes went by abnormally fast, and Sakura found it highly surprising that nothing had happened to her. She still hadn't had an encounter with anyone, not even Karin. Everyone was ignoring her— and, although that sounded bad, she was glad they were doing so.

"I'll meet you on the roof," Sakura said as she handed Hinata her Bento box, "I forgot something on my desk."

"Alright," Hinata smiled and went on through the crowd with the two bento boxes.

**X**

**X**

After walking through the halls, Sakura walked into the empty classroom and went over to her desk. She froze at the sight of it, staring at what the others had written.

Between "_Fuck off_", "_Whore_", "_Forehead_" and other insults, it was clear they did not want her anywhere around the school. Sakura sighed and sat down on her chair.

"Why is everyone so mean?" She asked herself as she took out her eraser. "Bastards… thinking I'm just gonna walk out… I worked hard to get in this school! Unlike most of them… snobs…"

Her voice trailed off as slow, hot tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the words on the desk. She moved her hand faster, hoplessly trying to erase all of them. Soon, though, her hand stopped moving and her forehead sank onto her desk as she bit her lower lip. She held in a sob.

_Stop crying Sakura, don't give in, that's what they want you to do_, she told herself, unable to contain the tears. _You have to be stronger!_

She heard a small _thud _in front of her and raised her head to see a bottle of pre-moistened wipes and Uchiha Sasuke.

Through the tears rolling down her cheeks, Sakura stared at Sasuke's dark and mysterious eyes wondering why he was here, why he brought the wipes, and simply just _why_. He hated her, she hated him— he said she was a freak, she said he was a bastard.

"It won't come off with just an eraser," he said, averting his gaze to the windows. Sakura wiped away her tears and took out one of the wipes.

"Yeah…" she replied quietly as she cleaned her desk, slowly erasing every word written on it.

A deep, strangely comfortable silence fell between the two. Sakura kept her head down as she took another wipe and continued cleaning her desk. She was afraid she would make it uncomfortable if she somehow caught him staring at her; or that he would say a rude remark if she raised her head.

She sniffed and smiled at the sight of her desk fully clean once again and finally raised her head.

"Thanks Sasuke…" The raven haired boy was nowhere to be found. _When did he walk out?_ she asked herself as she looked around, but he was gone.

She took the bottle and noticed a small piece of paper next to it. Taking hold of it, she read what was written in it.

_I'm not taking pity on you._

_-Sasuke._

She scoffed and muttered a small "Bastard…" as she held in a smile.

* * *

"Hitomi!"

The volleyball ball was tossed to the brunette, who threw it to the other half of the court where Sakura was forced to play. The pink-haired girl stood at one of the far corners, anxiously pleading for the ball to not come her way. Out of all sports, Sakura disliked volleyball the most, so she was always in tension.

_Why can't we just run? I'd enjoy that,_ she complained to herself when the ball was tossed to her side again.

"Come on girls, finish the game!" their teacher, Anko, yelled.

"Forehead!"

Sakura looked angrily at the girl who called her that, but her vision was suddenly blurred by the white ball bouncing off her head, throwing her glasses to the floor. The ball flew into another girl's palms as Sakura rubbed her aching head.

"Ow…"

Her team celebrated the fact they had won the match, completely leaving her out. Sakura bent down to pick up her glasses, but another pair of hands took them. She looked up and saw Yamanaka Ino staring at her.

Sakura stood straight as Ino handed them to her. "Thanks," she said as she started cleaning them.

"Mm…" Ino leaned closer to Sakura. The pink-haired girl took a step back, slightly freaked out.

"Why do you wear the glasses? You clearly look _much_ better without them," Ino said, putting her hands on her hips. Sakura blushed and looked elsewhere.

"I-I just do…" she said. "I need them."

"Uh-huh… of course you do…" Ino said as she walked away. She stopped a few steps away, winked at Sakura over her shoulder, "It'll be our little secret," she said, giggling as she walked.

"What… the hell?" _She couldn't possibly have noticed I don't need them at all_, Sakura rubbed her head and walked over to the bleachers as the next group filled the court.

"A-Are you alright Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked as she sat next to her.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Sakura replied breathlessly. She rubbed her temples and sighed.

**X**

**X**

"Bye Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled, waving before she walked out of the uwabaki locker room. Sakura waved back as she closed her small locker and slid on her black penny loafers.

After Naruto's outburst that morning, Hinata had been acting a bit strangely with her. Sakura had planned to properly explain that nothing had happened between herself and Naruto to Hinata during lunch, but she had spent her lunch time cleaning her desk. Hinata probably thought that Sakura had ditched her.

Then during P.E., Sakura had that encounter with Yamanaka Ino, and the fact that they now both shared a "_secret_" (without really knowing each other) erased everything that was on her mind— so now Hinata might think that Sakura didn't want to talk about it because something _had_ happened with Naruto. That wouldn't help Hinata make a move on him at all.

_I have to help her!_ Sakura thought as she walked out. _Yeah, Hinata and Naruto are going to be a couple! They WILL go out! LEAVE IT TO ME, HINATA-CHAN! _

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved enthusiastically from the gates of the school. Sasuke and Shikamaru stood next to him.

"Where's Neji?" Sakura asked when she joined them.

"He went ahead," Shikamaru answered.

"Oh… why?" she asked curiously. Sasuke smirked in response.

"You'll find out soon!" Naruto sang, unable to contain his excitement. Sakura couldn't help but to get a bit nervous since she hated surprises.

* * *

_Dear Grandma,_

"Close your eyes," Sasuke ordered Sakura as they reached of the front doors of the house. Sakura obeyed and nervously closed her eyes as Naruto and Shikamaru took hold of the doorknobs. Sasuke took her glasses off.

"H-Hey!"

"Quiet," Sasuke said, and covered her eyes with his hand. "Don't open them until we say so."

Sakura nodded, a deep blush covering her cheeks. The warmth of his hand against her skin, the fact that he stood so close to her, the scent of his skin… it was all too much— how she hated him.

_Originally I was going to send you this email to say how much I hated your guts for surprising me when you know I hate surprises; and for making me do this for the tenth time since I became a teenager. Then I was going to ask you over and over again, "How could you do this to me?!"_

Sasuke gently pushed her forward as they stepped inside the house. Naruto and Shikamaru closed the front doors, and Sasuke directed Sakura to the living room where he moved his hand from her eyes.

_But instead, _

"Open them." Sakura slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see Neji dressed in a black suit and standing in front of a rotating whiteboard.

"Welcome to your first lesson, Haruno-san. Please have a seat," he said. Sakura, although rather speechless and a bit shocked, obeyed, sitting right across the whiteboard with the coffee table between two sofas. Shikamaru sat on the sofa to the left of the table, and Naruto and Sasuke shared the sofa to the right.

_I'm sending you this email to let you know that the four guys living in your house are now officially my mentors, and that I've accepted for the first time since I became a teenager that I need to take better care of myself and change (a little). But most importantly, _

Although the first lesson wasn't really a lesson, the gentlemen explained how much they were going to do in order to turn Sakura into a "proper" lady. Lessons on things such as proper vocabulary, proper attire, proper physical care, proper manners, and everything inbetween were to take place before the school's closing ceremony and the Spring Festival so that Sakura could "s_hine like a true lady at the festival_", said Hyuuga Neji.

_I will try my best, I'll be strong, and I'll see myself change for the better each and every day._

They'll do it for free rent; she'll do it to step out of the box.

_Sincerely, _

_Haruno Sakura. _

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know, nearly three months without updating, but I was finally able to finish the chapter and update. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter; I spent hours working on it and making it as perfect as possible. I'll update the next chapter as soon as I can! :)

Happy Holidays! :D

_Beta Read by: _danielie.

**Please Review****, I'll really appreciate it!**

_-Mary._


	4. Chapter 4

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen_

___**9:26 am**_

Sakura let out a short sigh as she walked out of her bathroom, wearing an oversized red shirt she would usually sleep in and grey beach shorts. Her long hair was tied in a high, messy bun, with a few bangs framing her face, and her reading glasses rested high on her head.

She didn't have anything planned, so why not spend a nice day in the house wearing comfortable clothes?

The pink-haired girl opened the white window curtains, allowing the sunshine to light up her room. Just when she was about to leave, she noticed a shoebox resting on her desk. Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion as she walked over to it— she was positive that hadn't been there before she went to sleep.

She lifted the small note on top.

"'This is for you Haruno-san,'" Sakura started reading. "'Bring the box downstairs; we'll be waiting in the living room. From Neji.'" Sakura smiled and placed the note next to the box, opening the top excitedly…

"Heels?"

Four inch black heels rested inside the box, much to Sakura's dismay.

"What the…? What am I—? Oh God, no way!"

She took hold of the box before dashing out of the room.

_**

* * *

4

* * *

**_**9:31 am**

Sasuke yawned while Naruto played with a rubber band, Shikamaru slept on a corner of the sofa, and Neji stood in front of the white board, all patiently waiting for Sakura to come downstairs. However, only Neji knew why.

"_Nejii_," Naruto whined, dropping his hands down in his lap tiredly, "Why are we all here? Seriously, I'm hungry!"

"Then go and get something to eat, idiot," Sasuke replied, annoyed. He was tired, hungry, and angered by the fact that he didn't know what was going on so early in the morning.

They heard footsteps rushing down the stairs, and in seconds Sakura ran in with an opened shoebox in her hands.

"So, um," she lightly panted. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. She looked different without the glasses, and the fact that she was not wearing them was weird. "I have two questions," she said, "Why the sudden meeting, and why must I bring these high heels?"

Naruto snapped the rubber band at Shikamaru, rudely waking him up and instantly earning a glare from him.

"Good morning to you too, now please sit down," Neji said, gesturing to a chair. Sakura obeyed, sitting down with the shoebox in her lap. "As you all may have noticed we are the only ones in the house, no staff, nothing. The reason why I called you all here is so you can take these—" he handed out a paper to everyone.

Sakura mouthed the words as she read, unaware that she was not wearing her glasses. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this and smirked at the fact that his suspicions were correct.

"That chart contains a list of chores and the day each of us will do them," Neji continued, "and as you'll notice today we all do something—"

"So we have to do all of this every Saturday?!" Naruto asked, petrified by all of the things he had to do.

"Depending on the condition of the house," Neji answered.

"This is way too troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, leaning back on the sofa tiredly. "Why can't we just do nothing today? It's Saturday…"

Sakura bit her lower lip. "Where do the heels come in all of this?" she asked.

"Today you'll wear nothing but those heels," the pearl-eyed boy answered. Sakura gawked at this.

"WHAT?!" she retorted. "Are you nuts?! They're—" she took out one heel and showed it to him, despite the fact that he was the one who bought them. "They're freaking four inches high!"

"I know," Neji said, indifferent to Sakura's outburst. "During this process you'll attend different formal activities where it will be a must to wear high heels and know how to properly walk and dance in them. I figure that you'll get accustomed to walking in heels if you work and move around for an entire day in them."

Everyone was completely silent, especially Sakura. She was too busy looking at the heels and seeing herself with a broken ankle by the end of the day. Naruto was still staring at the chore chart, pouting at all the work that had to be done. Shikamaru ruffled his hair, indifferent to all of this, although slightly troubled by the workload as well. And Sasuke merely stared at Neji, blinking several times.

"Who died and made you queen?" He asked Neji monotonously; annoyed by the fact that Neji was suddenly '_taking charge'_.

Neji glared at Sasuke, taking his comment seriously. "Well, I'm obviously the one Haruno-sama trusts the most."

Sakura gasped, finally looking at something else other than the shoes. "But I'm her granddaughter!"

"Yeah, and I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto stated, highly believing that he should have authority because… he was Uzumaki Naruto.

"You're an idiot…" Shikamaru scoffed, and Naruto stuck out his tongue at him.

"Yes, you are Haruno-sama's granddaughter," Neji continued, "But you're currently our student—" Sakura pouted, and Neji looked at Naruto, "—and _youare _an obnoxious idiot. Shikamaru-san is too lazy to take care of such a big house—"

"True." Shikamaru shrugged.

Neji finally looked at Sasuke, and a small smirk formed across his lips, "—and you… well, who would trust _you_?"

Sasuke glared at Neji intensely. Sakura knew the brunette had hit a nerve there, but why?

Sasuke stood up, still glaring at Neji. "Let's just get this over with," he mumbled and abruptly left the room.

"Yes," Neji agreed, nodding at the three who were still in the room, and left as well. Shikamaru ruffled his hair.

"There they go again…" he sighed.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, confused. "What did Neji-kun meant by that? Why was Sasuke so angry?"

"It's a very long story Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "About Sasuke's past and stuff."

"We don't even know it completely, just brief things that summarize everything that happened," Shikamaru said, standing up. "How troublesome…" he rubbed his temple before walking away.

"Well…!" Naruto jumped up and grinned, "Let's start working!"

"Yeah…" she mumbled, standing up as well.

* * *

**10:10 am**

_Second Floor, East Wing_

_Clack, clack, clack, clack_

_Slip, mop._

Although she didn't want to, it seemed inevitable that Sakura would feel a little left out. For a moment she thought she was finally accepted, that she was part of the group, and she was actually feeling happy about that. But that feeling didn't last long, much to her dismay, because the morning's event made her realized she knew _nothing_ about them.

She was, after all, just an outsider in their lives— their '_student_'.

_Clack, clack, clack, clack._

_Slip._

"Ugh!" She took off one heel and rubbed her foot. "Damn you Neji-kun, you could've at least gotten me comfortable heels!" She groaned again and slid the black heel back on before picking up the heavy bucket of water and moving on down the hall.

**::**

_First Floor, Bathroom #1_

Naruto grunted as he cleaned the first of many toilets he'd have to clean that glorious Saturday.

"Why do _I _get the bathrooms?!" he whined. "It's not fair! _Not fair_! Neji you asshole!"

**::**

_Second Floor, Sakura's room_

"Shouldn't _Sakura_ be the one cleaning herroom?" Shikamaru asked, lazily passing a cloth on the windows.

"Yes," Neji said, looking through her bookshelf. "I just needed a reasonable excuse to search in here…" He took out a book, "_Neurology 101. _So she wants to be a Neurologist…"

"She does?" Shikamaru asked, impressed.

"So it seems. Nearly every book on her shelf has to do with Neurology…" he picked up another book.

Shikamaru sprayed window-cleaning detergent on another window, and with a sigh he began scrubbing it.

A dead silence filled the room as one teen carelessly cleaned half of a window and the other moved the feather duster back and forth on the same spot, his attention on a book.

"… you shouldn't have said that to Sasuke, Neji," Shikamaru said out of the blue, suddenly feeling like defending Sasuke.

"He needs to accept what happened one way or another," Neji said, his gaze still on the book. "Every decision has its consequences; he must learn to move on." Shikamaru glared at Neji.

"What about you? Shouldn't you do the same thing?"

And with that said, the Neurology book was tightly shut.

* * *

Sakura took off her glasses and calmly cleaned them, taking a chance to rest a little after mopping the hall. Then she heard whines, complaints, and a series of colourful words inbetween, all coming from downstairs.

She hurriedly ran down the stairs, her heels clacking loudly, and followed the voice only to find Naruto cleaning a bathtub, all wet. Her lips trembled and her hand covered her mouth as she began laughing.

"This isn't funny!" Naruto yelled. He took a step to walk out of the tub, but slipped and fell. More colourful words erupted from his mouth.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh as she approached him. "A-Are you okay?" she asked through her laughter, kneeling next to the tub.

"Next time," he sat up, "I clean the halls and _you _clean the bathrooms." Sakura laughed.

"Uh-huh, will you wear the heels too?"

"What? No way! Those things look so freaking uncomfortable!"

"They are…" Sakura said, taking them off. Her feet throbbed as they touched the cold tiled floor.

Naruto kneeled on the bathtub floor and began cleaning it, grunting every now and then. Sakura stared, lost in her thoughts, before she looked at Naruto.

"Oi, Naruto." He looked at the pink haired girl. "What do you think of Hinata-chan?"

"Hinata…?" Naruto said, shrugging. "She's okay, I guess. Really, really quiet though… and she gets all red every time I see her. Does she have an illness or something?"

Sakura felt the urge to smack the blond on the head _hard_. Nevertheless, she shrugged and played along.

"Don't think so, but, talk to her on Monday," she smiled, "She's a really, _really _nice girl. You'll like her!" '_Hopefully, love her…_' Sakura thought, holding in a giggle at the thought of them together.

"… Mm, okay, I will!" he grinned, and Sakura smiled back, knowing this would make Hinata very happy.

She leaned against the wall, watching the different faces Naruto made as he scrubbed the tub, lightly chuckling when he smacked his forehead against the wall. This light atmosphere, however, seemed unreal to her because of the strong tension outside of the bathroom, and sadness was unavoidable since there was nothing she could do about it.

"Naruto-kun?" she called quietly, her gaze on the floor, "are they going to keep fighting because of what happened this morning?"

Naruto's face softened at Sakura's worry.

"Nah," he smiled. "See, we're like brothers, we fight and make up, and after a little while, fight and make up again. You'll get used to it, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded, and although she still felt a little out of place, she smiled; thinking that "_you'll get used to it_" was another way of saying "_you'll be one of us soon_."

**::**

"What happened to me is not the same as what happened to Sasuke—!"

"I'm not saying that," Shikamaru said. "But you keep bringing it up again and again, putting Sasuke below you. You think that's going to make him accept what happened and happily move on? Bullshit Neji, you know that will never happen. It's Sasuke we're talking about here, jeez…" Shikamaru passed a hand through his hair, sighing. "First, _you _move on, and then you make _him _move on."

Neji glared as Shikamaru walked past him.

"I _have _moved on," he said. Shikamaru stopped midway out the door and looked at Neji seriously.

"Then prove it," he said. "Stop reluctantly serving Hinata and treat her as your actual cousin, not the chosen leader of the Hyuuga family."

And with one last look at Neji, Shikamaru closed the door, deciding he needed to go cloud gazing for a good while.

**::**

Sakura made her way up the stairs slowly. Both her feet were aching terribly, especially her right foot.

'_I don't think I can go on wearing these shoes_,_'_ she thought, stopping on a stair and looking down at them, feeling nothing but temptation to take them off. _'Argh! No!'_ She looked elsewhere.

"You can do it Sakura…" she told herself, and slowly but surely kept going up.

As she reached the last step, her feet wobbled, giving up, and the pink-haired girl fell forward. Her knees made direct contact with the corner of the last stair, one high heel fell a few stairs down, and the other dropped next to her feet. Her bun was nearly undone, and her reading glasses were on the floor.

"That hurt…" she said, biting her lower lip. An automatic and unwanted tear fell on her glasses. She sat on the stair and rubbed her knees as she stared at her throbbing red feet. Her lips trembled at the pain.

"What the—? What happened to you?"

Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke at the bottom of the stairs with a bottle of water. She seemed unable to control the amount of tears that began falling as she felt both pain and embarrassment.

"Don't…" she sobbed, wiping away tears that were quickly followed by new ones. "Don't take pity on me…"

Sasuke took her uncontrollable crying as cue, and he ran up the stairs and to the girl's side.

"Sakura?" Shikamaru ran to them. He looked down at the girl and kneeled beside her. "Come on, let's carry her to the kitchen…" he said, Sasuke nodded, and before Sakura could say anything they raised her. A light blushed covered her cheeks and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck, tightly holding his shirt.

"Don't let me fall!" she closed her eyes tightly as the two teens went down the stairs slowly. The last thing she wanted was to fall for a second time and possibly break a bone.

They hurriedly walked inside the kitchen and before their arms gave out, they settled the girl on one of the counters.

"Goddamn it," Sasuke huffed. "You're heavy…" Sakura glared at him and pinched his arm.

"I am not fat!" she retorted.

"I didn't call you fat," he replied, staring at her with cold and careless eyes, "I merely said you were _heavy_." Sakura stuck out her tongue at him, and Shikamaru placed a bag of ice on each of her knees.

"Keep those there," he said, "I'll get Neji."

"Thanks…" Sakura said before he walked out.

Sakura kept her gaze on the two ice bags as she held them against her knees. A slightly awkward silence fell between the two, for one did not want to talk, while the other knew there was something to be said and questions to be answered, but didn't have the courage to do start.

"… thanks…" Sakura said, breaking the silence. Sasuke averted his gaze from the window and onto her.

"For what?" He crossed his arms across his chest, leaning against the counter more. Sakura raised her head and smiled lightly— the same smile Naruto complimented.

"For yesterday; I don't think I could have gotten far with just an eraser," she chuckled.

"… hn." Sasuke abruptly stood up straight and went to the refrigerator. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. _'Prick_,_'_ she thought, getting tired of his attitude.

"I honestly don't get you Sasuke," Sakura said quietly.

These sudden words caught the Uchiha's attention.

"One minute you're being a total bastard, and the next you're helping me. Then when I'm going to thank you for doing something nice, you just turn your back on me and _hn._"

Sakura got off the counter, ignoring the ice bags, and glared at Sasuke, "You're cold towards everyone, even with the people you live with— start thinking about other people's feelings too!"

Sakura held onto the counter when her knees wobbled a little, and she looked down, astonished. She couldn't really believe she had said that, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel damn good about speaking her mind. She congratulated herself over and over again, but the fact that Sasuke was quiet made her nervous.

'_Where the hell is Shikamaru with Neji?!'_ she thought.

Sasuke took a couple of steps forward, his lips pressed into a thin line. He approached her until Sakura, still looking down, could see his shoes right in front of her bare feet. His breaths became louder and louder as he leaned closer to her ear, his warm hand making light chills run down her spine when it touched her upper arm. She took shallow breaths, not knowing if the reason she felt hot was due to their body heats or the deep red blush that covered her cheeks.

Her emotions were his amusement.

"Get a clue, _liar_."

Sakura kept still as he brushed past her and made his way out of the kitchen, just as Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto made their way in. Her moment of glory had been completely crushed by one little phrase, one little touch, and one little step. And the moment she regained her thoughts and her breaths, her lips growled in anger and she abruptly turned her heel.

"Damn you bastard!"

-

-

"Was he smirking?" Naruto suddenly asked, recalling Sasuke's face as passed them.

"_**Ugh!**_"

And Sakura knew that her outburst meant absolutely nothing to him (or so she thought).

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: Yay, first update of the new year (happy (belated) new year everyone!). I hope everyone liked this chapter and that little SasuSaku moment you had there, things are starting to get interesting and they'll keep getting even more interesting and better. So keep reading! :)

_Beta Read by: _danielie.

**Please Review****, I'll really appreciate it!**

_-Mary._


	5. Chapter 5

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen_

Sakura adjusted her faded green messenger bag and slid her hands inside the warm pockets of her jacket— she had found the morning temperature a little too cold for her liking. The guys walked a few steps ahead of her, talking about things she didn't really find interesting. Nevertheless, she was glad they were back to normal— or at least it seemed that way.

"_Get a clue, liar_."

A deep red blush immediately covered her cheeks as she recalled what Sasuke said on Saturday. Sakura glared at the floor. _'Damn that guy! I-I'm no liar! Damn him to hell!'_

"Watch out!!"

"Huh?!"

Sakura fell to the ground as someone on a bicycle rushed past her and lost control, crashing against a street lamp.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto and the other three gentlemen quickly rushed to the fallen girl. "Are you okay?"

Sakura ignored their concern and quickly rushed to the guy who nearly ran over her. He had his back to her as he bent down to pick up his bicycle.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. The boy quickly turned around.

"I'm really sorry ma—!" a light pink blush formed around his cheeks and his breath was taken away, "Oh my Gai-sensei, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen…"

Sakura's eyes opened wide and she blushed madly, unable to think or speak, and the four gentlemen were astounded by his immediate confession and the size of his black eyebrows.

"I'm Rock Lee, please tell me your name!"

"Ha-Haruno…Sakura…" _WHAT?!_

And thus, her life with Rock Lee in the picture had begun.

* * *

**5**

* * *

"He has bushy brows…" Naruto said, sliding on his uwabaki before waving at two girls who said hello to him (and glared at Sakura). "And a really weird haircut, ne teme?"

"Meh." Sasuke shrugged.

"But he seemed sweet…" Sakura said, "Strange, but sweet."

'_He was also one of the few who has considered me "beautiful" or "cute". Last one who said that was a guy from junior high…'_

Sakura unconsciously tilted her head a little to the side. '_…oh, he was kind of cute actually, I wonder why I turned him down… what was his name?"_

"-kura! SAKURA!"

"Huh? What?"

Naruto pouted and Neji sighed.

"Learn to pay attention," Neji said. Sakura nodded, looking down a little, embarrassed.

"Although in Sakura's defense," Shikamaru spoke as they started waking out of the uwabaki locker room, "Naruto's babbling tends to be boring,"

"Boring is an understatement." Sasuke said, smirking.

"_HEY_!"

Sakura closed her small locker and quickly followed the boys out to the halls, chuckling at the scene Naruto was causing. They were just like before, making fun and hitting each other, laughing along the way. Just like Naruto said, they were like brothers.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Sakura stopped and turned to look at the source of the voice, and saw none other than the boy she had met earlier that morning— Rock Lee. The four gentlemen stood behind Sakura, wondering what he wanted now.

Sakura smiled nervously, "Hi Lee."

"Please, allow me to carry your bag," Lee said. "I feel very sorry for what happened earlier, and I'd love to make it up to you in any way possible."

"T-There's no need, Lee, it's okay," Sakura said, chuckling awkwardly _'Strange, but sweet, Strange…'_ she thought. "And my bag isn't heavy at all, really."

"I'm going." And with that said, Neji calmly walked away, taking out an interesting book he found on Sakura's bookshelf— surprisingly, she hadn't noticed a book was missing.

"Well then," Lee said, "allow me to buy you lunch!"

"Sorry Lee, I bring my own bento box, but thanks for the offer," Sakura said, chuckling yet again.

"Yeah! I made her lunch!" Naruto said proudly, pointing at himself.

Lee sighed, disappointed, but quickly started thinking of another thing he could do.

"Ah! I know!" Lee's eyes shone. He thought his new idea was absolutely and completely fantastic. "Why don't I walk you home?" Gai-sensei would be so proud.

Sakura stayed silent, unable to think properly for some reason. Shikamaru took this moment as cue to walk away, thinking that it'd be troublesome to hear Lee suggesting different things he could do to make up for what he did this morning, something Sakura obviously didn't want.

Lee smiled at the pink-haired girl, waiting for her answer patiently while at the same time daydreaming of what a glorious and youthful afternoon he would have with her by his side. Yes, Gai-sensei would be so proud of him indeed.

"Come again?" Sakura finally spoke, still rather dumbfounded. Why couldn't she just say no?

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Lee asked again, still looking hopeful.

"You can't." Sasuke said monotonously, staring at Lee with an emotionless face.

"… uh-huh…" Sakura nodded.

"She's got stuff."

"… uh-huh…"

"Important stuff."

"… uh-huh…"

Sasuke then began walking away, and Sakura followed quietly. Naruto, who had been wondering all of this time what he'd cook for dinner, looked over at the spot where his two friends had been standing, about to ask them what they would like, only to see they were walking away.

"Oh hey! Wait for me!" He quickly ran after them, "Bye bushy-brows!"

"See you around, Sakura-san!" Lee said, happily waving at his female crush. Did he just get rejected by _Sasuke_?

_

* * *

_

"She seems to be ignoring everything we've done," a brunette said, watching as the pink-haired girl walked away with Naruto and Sasuke. "What should we do Karin?"

Karin took a deep breath, glaring at Sakura's back as she watched her talk to Sasuke and Naruto, and how calm they both seemed with her presence. She wanted to know, she _needed_ to know, just the type of relationship they all shared— what did the _freak_ have that she didn't?

"You know what we need to do."

* * *

Rock Lee sighed dreamily as he stared out the window, his cheeks covered by a small tint of pink as his eyes were lost in his countless of thoughts of Haruno Sakura.

"Oh boy, I know that look," TenTen said, sitting next to Neji with her eyes on Lee. "Who's the girl?"

"Haruno Sakura." Neji answered, turning the page of the book her was reading. TenTen gasped jokingly.

"The one you're stalking!"

Neji glared at TenTen, and the brunette laughed.

"I'm not stalking anyone," he growled.

"Oh I know, Neji, I know, but wow… your reaction was hilarious." She laughed, hiding her concern, nervousness and curiosity about who this Sakura girl was.

"Hey, hey, Neji, hey, hey!" Lee sat in front of Neji eagerly. Neji looked at Lee with careless, slightly annoyed eyes. "What's Sakura-san's favorite color?"

"Don't know," Neji replied monotonously, looking at the book once again.

"What's her favorite dish?"

"Don't know."

"What's her favorite season?

"Don't know."

"And her favorite flower?"

"Don't know.

"Jeez," TenTen finally spoke, "what kind of stalker are you?" Neji held a page tightly and glared at TenTen, who smiled and laughed in return.

"If you know so little of her, Neji-san," Lee said, "Why were you walking to school with her?"

TenTen's smile faded quickly, and she couldn't help but immediately look at Neji, waiting for an answer. She felt a small _bang _on her heart the second Lee had asked that, and she quickly told herself that she was only curious and hurt at the same time because Neji had not told her anything, although it wasn't as if he would tell her anything like that out of his own will.

'_Why isn't Neji answering?'_ TenTen gulped.

"It's not as it seems, Lee," Neji said seriously. TenTen felt relieved. "The others were there as well; she's the granddaughter of our landlady."

"Ah, I see…" Lee smiled, now positive that he had a chance with Sakura— although she and Sasuke had declined his offers earlier.

"Next time though," Lee opened his eyes widely and gulped at Neji's slightly dangerous aura, "watch where you're going." The last thing he wanted was to pay for a doctor— they were expensive.

"Er, of course sir!" Lee saluted, and Neji ignored him.

* * *

It was the period before lunch, with Kurenai. Sakura was walking down the hall towards the bathroom with Naruto, to wash her hands. He had asked her for a pen during class and when he handed it back to her it broke, staining their hands with black ink.

"Really Naruto-kun, you should be more careful." Sakura sighed, wondering if it would come off.

"I'm really sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "I swear, I never thought it would break!"

"Yeah… neither did I…" '_It was new, too_.'

Sakura entered the girls' bathroom and was surprised to see Yamanaka Ino walking out of a stall. They both started washing their hands silently.

The white sink began turning black as Sakura struggled to get the ink off her hands, blaming Naruto under her breath for the mess she was causing.

"Mm, you should be careful, Sakura," Ino suddenly spoke as she took out her blush.

"Yeah, last time I give Naruto one of my pens," Sakura said and huffed, taking more soap.

"No…" Ino sighed, "I meant with the fan girls. You should watch out for them."

Sakura raised her head, leaving her hands under the cold rush of water, and stared at Ino silently, waiting for her to continue.

"They are very protective of the boys, and when I say that, I mean it," Ino said. "I should know, because… I was one of them…"

Sakura dried her now clean hands and asked her casually, "What do think they'll do next?"

"I honestly don't know, but they see you as a threat," Ino said, putting away her lip gloss. "Whatever it is, though, I'm sure it won't be anything dangerous. They'll never do something that would get them to jail or far away from their _princes_. They'll probably just… publicly humiliate you, that's all." Ino smiled and giggled.

Sakura stared at the blue eyed girl. "Oh _joy_."

Sakura didn't really understand what was so amazing about the guys she lived with. They were good looking, yes, but then what? None of the girls in the prestigious school knew them well, not even she did, and she was with them everyday. The whole thing with the fan girls was starting to get annoying; why couldn't they just go on with their lives?

Sakura and Ino silently walked back to the classroom. The sounds of their shoes echoed through the hall, and through each door they passed they heard the voices of a professor lecturing.

Sakura looked at the blonde walking beside her, remembering what happened last Friday during P.E and that she apparently knew that Sakura didn't need the glasses. She was still a little freaked out by her sudden approach; she'd never really expected someone like Ino to suddenly talk to her. '_But she's nice enough to tell me that the fan girls won't be giving up and keep the whole glasses thing a secret_,' Sakura thought.

"Say, Ino," they both stopped in front of Kurenai's door, "Would you like to join Hinata and I during lunch? We eat on the roof." Ino stared at Sakura for a few seconds, before a small smile formed across her lips.

"Sure, that would be nice." She said. Sakura smiled back and both girls walked into the classroom.

**::**

_Lunch_

Dark grey clouds were slowly covering the clear blue sky, promising heavy rain later that day, while the three girls sat on the roof. Hinata didn't really seem to mind Ino's presence, and apparently they had spoken before a few times.

Sakura took a bite of the rice ball Naruto had made and felt absolute bliss as she swallowed it. She looked at Hinata, who quietly ate her lunch, and couldn't help but noticed the small blush that covered her cheeks. Her eyes grew wide and she held in a smile as she munched another bite.

_I'll ask Naruto-kun later_, she thought.

"Hey Sakura," said girl looked at Ino, "I'm really curious, why is it that you arrive and leave with the guys?" Hinata looked at Sakura as well, very curious. Sakura swallowed what she was eating.

"I live with them—"

"**WHAT**?!" Ino dropped her food, and Hinata gasped loudly. "You live with them? As in, under the same roof?"

Sakura nodded calmly,

"As in…" Ino sputtered, "… as in, you see them twenty four seven?"

Sakura nodded calmly. _'Sadly_,_'_ she thought, thinking of Sasuke's arrogant face.

"As in… you see their beautifully shaped bodies when they get out of the **shower**?!"

Hinata's blushed a very deep shade of red when that image appeared in her mind. Sakura quickly stopped herself from nodding and blushed.

"Ew, **no**! Ino, you pervert!" she said quickly.

"I'm sorry, I can't help but imagine them every now and then…" Ino said, sighing dreamily.

Sakura sighed, controlling her blush. "Their landlady is my grandmother. Last week I arrived at her mansion because she was going to leave for a few months, and that's when I met them. They were asked by my grandmother to turn me into a proper young lady, so they are my mentors."

'_That…sounds kind of embarrassing_…' Sakura suddenly realized.

"Mentors?" Hinata asked. Sakura nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait." Both girls looked at Ino. "So you're telling me that an obnoxious, hyperactive monkey, a lazy bum, and two _icebergs_ are turning you into a _lady_?"

"Yup."

Ino's mouth dropped. "Wow," she said, "I mean, Neji can probably pull it off, and perhaps Sasuke, but the other two? That's— that's gonna be _something_."

"When you put it that way it's true," Sakura said chuckling, "but each has an area he's good at and it will help me. For example, Naruto-kun is a fantastic cook, so every night he's going to teach me different dishes, and so on."

"That's certainly something you don't see every day," Ino said, still rather speechless. She quickly shook her head and stared at her pink-haired friend. "Sakura, you do know that if those girls find out it'll be absolutely chaotic, right?"

Sakura nodded as she sighed. "Yeah, that's why I want you guys to keep this totally secret."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled, "we won't tell anyone." Ino nodded.

Sakura smiled at both of them, glad that she could trust them and that her pearl-eyed friend was acting normally with her again.

'_I wonder what Naruto-kun told her_,_'_ she thought. _'Oooh, you deserve a chocolate chip cookie Sakura, WELL DONE!'_

If those two weren't there, Sakura would have done a happy dance without a care in the world. Yes, she happy dances.

* * *

The last bell rang, signaling freedom after a long and tiring day at school. Sakura calmly walked to her uwabaki locker, knowing the guys would be waiting for her at the front gate.

"I wonder what Naruto-kun is going to teach me tonight," she wondered out loud. "It is my first cooking lesson with him."

She opened her locker and saw a pink sticky note on her penny loafers. She raised an eyebrow and took it. The writing was thin, and from the fact that the sticky note was pink, she was sure it was a girl.

_Go to the gym alone, we'll be waiting for you_.

Sakura's heart was beating fast, and she couldn't help but feel slightly anxious.

'_They just can't leave me alone, huh?'_ she thought, closing her palm with the sticky note inside and throwing the small paper in her locker. She slid on her penny loafers and went outside, where she saw the guys standing not too far away. They were about to start walking once she was close to them, stopped them.

"You guys can go on ahead," she smiled, "I'm going to this café with Ino-san to hang out for a bit. Don't worry though, I'll be back home before Naruto's lesson."

"I wanna go!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Dobe, we're leaving." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's sleeve and dragged him away with Shikamaru. Neji nodded at the pink-haired girl and followed the others out the school.

Sakura laughed half-heartedly. A small drop of cold sweat ran down her forehead and her heart was beating fast. She closed her hand into a tight fist and turned her heel.

**::**

Sakura took hold of her messenger bag's strap as she walked into the dark gym. Her footsteps echoed loudly and she gulped, trying to see if anyone was around.

"About time, you." The lights turned on, blinding Sakura for a second. Several steps away from her were around six girls, all with arrogant faces. Karin stood right in front of them.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked, reminding herself to not be afraid of them, they were fan girls after all. Just fan girls.

"There are many things that I want Sakura-_chan_, many, many things," Karin said, sarcastically adding the suffix after the girl's name. The other girls with her formed a ring around Sakura, "Unfortunately for you, kicking you out is one of them."

Sakura glared at Karin and closed her fist tightly. She was getting tired and very irritated by their constant threats, attacks, and all-around bullying that she simply didn't deserve. They wanted the boys? They could have them. But one thing she would _not_ hand over was her right to be in that school. She worked very hard to earn that scholarship.

"I just don't know what they see in you," Karin teased, putting a perfectly manicured finger on her chin. The girls around Sakura snickered; pointing out whatever they thought wasn't appealing about the pink haired— which, in their case, was everything.

"Just look at that hair."  
'_**Your**__ hair looks incredibly greasy_,_'_ Sakura thought, glaring at the girl who had said that. "She has man hands."  
'_Man – __**what**__?!'_  
"And look at those legs!"  
'_What's wrong with my legs, toothpick?!'_  
"Yeah…and let's not forget the size of her forehead." Karin smirked.  
"…"

Sakura exhaled through her teeth, trying her best to keep her temper as low as possible. She was never one to fight— never. "_Fighting never solves anything, Sakura,_" her mother would always say. But Sakura really did have a short temper.

And, without intending for her thoughts to be heard, she rolled her eyes and whispered loud enough, "Like you could look any better." _Oh shit_.

Wide green eyes met equally wide red eyes, and Sakura knew she had chosen the wrong words to say out loud.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: Ah, cliffy, hehe. It was fun though. I'm sorry if I took a bit long updating, school is the blame (as usual)

Thanks a bunch for reviewing, I'll update as soon as possible! :)

_Beta Read by: _danielie. (Thanks a** bunch** for the help!)

**Please Review****, I'll really appreciate it!**

_-Mary._


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I am _incredibly _sorry for my absence and for not updating in so long. My computer crashed (yet again) and I've been waiting nearly a year for a new one, plus school is nearly drowning me with work. Thanks a lot for supporting and reviewing the story, I'm really glad you guys like it. :)

* * *

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen_

"_I do not regret anything  
I want freedom in a material world  
Feel the love without falling in it  
And forget the pain that causes suffering_"

– Zoé "Reptilectric"

* * *

**6**

* * *

She couldn't really figure how she manages to get into this kind of situations, mainly because she does absolutely _nothing _to get in them.

"_What_ did you say?" Karin asked through her teeth. Sakura's eyes grew wide at the sight of Karin's glare – if looks could kill, the pink haired would've vanished in thin air the first time they saw each other.

"I didn't… –" Sakura trailed off, wondering why she just couldn't think straight at a time like this, why she was trying to cover herself and most importantly, where did the courage she had a few minutes ago go.

"You don't _belong _in a place like this, surrounded by people that are above you in so many ways!" Karin spat, anger rushing though her veins. Sakura looked slightly dumbfounded as Karin continued, taking a few steps toward her, "Why are you even here? Why are they paying so much attention to someone as pathetic and unattractive as you?!" a cold hand smacked Sakura's right cheek, sending her glasses to the floor and shocking the pink haired.

"Karin…" one of the girls' called lowly, as shocked as the others. Karin however, paid no attention to them; she was too busy waiting impatiently for an answer from Sakura.

Sakura's senses came back and her mind started working once again as the shock faded away. Why was Karin doing this? Was she really _that _desperate for their attention?

"…maybe they are paying more attention to me because I'm not desperately seeking it from them, maybe they see more to me than the unattractiveness you say I have," Sakura raised her head and stared straight at Karin's eyes, "Maybe I'm here because I worked hard to be as equal to the people you say are above me and I got in because I _am _equal to the people _you _say are above me in _so many ways_, and maybe…but possibly true, _you _are the pathetic and unattractive one because you've got nothing else to give to this school other than your _bitchy _and _annoying _attitude!"

Sakura kept staring straight at Karin's shocked eyes, waiting for a response or a punch from her. She felt as if a huge weight was taken off her shoulders and proud once again to have spoken her mind. No one was going to decide whether or not she was capable of being somewhere and Karin was definitely not going to call her pathetic.

"If you want their attention so bad, try seeking it in another way," Sakura said calmly, realizing Karin wasn't going to say something back, "They don't really care whether or not you're their _number one fan_, they just want someone who won't drool over their every step and will actually see beyond their attractiveness." _Just like they are doing with me…_

Sakura lightly smiled and took that moment as cue to leave; secretly hoping that Karin won't throw a dagger straight to her back or run towards her to strangle her to death. She looked back at the girls' mid-way out the door and Karin was standing still in the same spot as some girls walked to her while others watched as Sakura left the gym.

"Karin, are you okay?" one asked gently, reaching her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Karin said, moving her shoulder away from the girl's hand.

She just couldn't believe that Haruno Sakura was actually…_beautiful_; it just _couldn't _be like that. She was the freak, the nerd, the commoner, the one who shouldn't be in the school…but deserved being in it, and Karin knew that Sakura was far more than what everyone thought she was, more than what she would ever be.

"What are we going to do now Karin?" another girl asked.

"…nothing," Karin answered, noticing for the first time Sakura's glasses on the floor, "We'll just do nothing."

* * *

Sasuke threw himself on the bed and stared at the ceiling with tired eyes. Small bags were forming under his eyes due to the small amount of sleep he had been getting the past few days.

It was haunting him, that inevitable guilt he didn't deserve, that wrongly made accusation, the thought that they considered him an outsider, a betrayer. Why did he accuse him? Why didn't he believe him? Was he not considered one of them even though he _was_ one of them? Were they ashamed of him?

Sasuke passed his hands through his face, shaking the thoughts away from his head and just think about nothing, just think about…pink.

She was annoying, stubborn, picky, a cry baby and just…_annoying_. Since when was he a make over artist? Since when was he a professional at turning girls into ladies?

_Free rent, it's just for the free rent_, he reminded himself. Although he figured he wouldn't mind working to pay the rent, the thought of not paying it anymore made the situation slightly better – one less thing to worry about.

The phone started ringing and he shifted to take it, hoping it wasn't Asako calling to ask if there was any progress in the project.

"Haruno Asako's Residence." He answered monotonously, lying back on the bed.

"Sa-Sasuke?" He quickly sat up, the tiredness had gone away in an instant and his body had slightly stiffened. "Sasuke is that you?"

His mouth was pressed in a tight line, not daring to speak up or make a sound whatsoever. Why was she calling? How did she figure out he was there? …no one was supposed to know.

A soft cry was heard from the other line, "Ple-Please, answer me…_please_," she pleaded, "It's been nearly eight months…"

The grip on the phone tightened as he closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh.

"…mother…?"

* * *

Sakura stepped inside the house and inhaled the warm and welcoming scent that always lingered.

"I'm home!" she shouted as she took a few steps forward. Strangely enough, the house was dead silent – no shouting, complaining or "_shut up Naruto"_.

"Hello? Anyone here?" She walked to the living room, the place where the guy's were usual found at, and lightly sighed when, yet again, no reply was made. _'Oh well, I have the house aaall to myself'._

Her small smile faded when she heard soft classical music coming from the backyard followed by a few loud complains.

Sakura made her way to the patio and found Naruto in the pool, Shikamaru sleeping under a tree and Neji sitting by the table reading a familiar book. Ever since she arrived to her grandmother's house she had been too busy with housework, homework and lady-work that she had never really gone out to the backyard – and it was quite an amazing one.

The pool was rather long and perfect for swimming on a hot day, a variety of colorful flowers decorated almost every corner of the backyard and big, beautiful trees gave a perfect shade. Marbled floors, fountains, fine oak wood benches and a soft air of serenity made Sakura completely awed by the dream-like feeling the garden gave her.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled happily, and Sakura waved back.

"Nice of you to join us Haruno-san." said Neji, his eyes fixed on the book.

"Hey, I have that same book!" Sakura smiled, sitting across Neji – said boy tensed a bit, thinking she had realized that _was _her book – "At least now we have something else in common."

"Right," Neji said, putting the book down and noticing several things for the first time – one, Sakura was a little off, two, one of her cheeks was rather red and three, she looked _different _without her glasses.

"What happened to your glasses? And why is your cheek red?" he asked, staring straight at the girl's green eyes.

Sakura couldn't find it in her to lie to Neji even though she _wanted _to keep herself covered. She was afraid that sooner or later he'd find out the truth and he would get mad at her for lying, but most of all she merely felt the need to be honest with him.

"I…don't know what happened to my glasses, and I got slapped across my cheek," Neji's eyes slightly widened, "But…I'm incredibly and utterly proud of myself that I don't even know what I'm supposed to do – do I jump and cheer? Or…do I smile and just take it all in?"

Neji lightly smiled as he stood up. He walked to the kitchen and came out with a napkin filled with two ice cubes. He motioned for Sakura to turn and face him, and when she did so, he gently pressed the napkin against her cheek.

"I don't want to know the details of your adventure that was most definitely _not_ in the café nor with Yamanaka-san, and as your mentor I am rather disappointed by your lies," he said as Sakura stared up at him, hoping she wouldn't get punished, "However as your housemate and close acquaintance, I am also proud of your personal achievements."

Sakura kept staring at him rather speechless. She had never expected such touching words from Neji, or such openness from him. She had always figured that they would only have a mentor and student relationship, and nothing close to an actual friendship. But perhaps, things could change.

Small tears filled her eyes as an inevitable smile formed across her lips, "Thanks Neji."

* * *

**8:30 pm**

Naruto took the rice in his hands and carefully started making a form with it as Sakura watched carefully, taking notes of everything he did and everything he said.

They were in the middle of the cooking lesson and Naruto had decided that he would teach her how to do onigiri, something rather simple and _lady-like_ because she could do _cute _figures (Naruto's thoughts).

"Try it out Sakura-chan!" Sakura stood next to Naruto and took a ball of rice, "Use both hands and carefully start putting a shape to it like I am." The pink haired nodded and did as Naruto was doing.

"The rise is sticky." Sakura giggled.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, "Some rise will _always _stay in your hands while you do this – like _ALWAYS_, but it's fun, neh?" Sakura nodded in agreement, trying to make the onigiri as perfect as possible, but failing to do so – while Naruto's was shaped perfectly like a triangle, her onigiri could barely stay together even with seaweed wrapped around it.

Naruto laughed, "It's kind of hard the first time, but you'll get the hang of it!" The blond took a bite and lightly moaned, "It's good…but ramen's _**way **_better!"

"I'll take these to the others." Sakura said, taking hold of the plate filled with several onigiris. Naruto nodded absent-mindedly, for he was debating whether to eat ramen now or leave it for the next day because they already had dinner.

"Oi, wait Sakura-chan!" Sakura turned around and looked at Naruto, "You look really nice without the glasses, glad you decided to use contact lenses!"

Sakura couldn't help but to laugh and at the same time feel rather flattered by Naruto's comment. Had he really not realized that she didn't need the glasses in the first place?

"Thanks Naruto-kun." she said before walking out of the kitchen.

After turn downs from Shikamaru and Neji, Sakura went up the stairs and towards Sasuke's room. She hadn't seen him since they left school and was nowhere to be found when they were all called for dinner, something she found rather strange. They figured he had already eaten or that he merely didn't want to have company, seeing as he can be a loner sometimes. But even with those conclusions she always had a small feeling in the pit of her stomach that something just wasn't quite right, it wasn't like him to stay in his room for the entire afternoon and _not_ torture her.

Sakura took in some air before knocking Sasuke's door, secretly hoping he was in a good mood.

"Sasuke?" she stood close the door waiting for a response from him, but nothing. "Sasuke, are you there?" she knocked again, her eyes narrowing. She turned the knob and walked in the room expecting to find a sleeping Sasuke, but nothing…

"Sasuke?" she looked around the room, a surprising and unwanted worry building up inside.

The room was dark, slightly messy with the bed covers undone and a few papers and books thrown in the floor – something she never expected to see in Sasuke's room – and a window was fully opened, allowing chilly breeze to fly in and raise goosebumps throughout her arms.

She threw the plate on his bed and ran to the window to see where it leads to. A large tree just two steps away stood right in front of it and realization drew upon her.

'_He's gone…'_ "He's gone…" she took a few steps back before dashing out of the room, "Sasuke's gone! He's not in his room!"

Sakura ran down the stairs and met with the three remaining gentlemen, "He's not there!"

"What do you mean he's not there?" Shikamaru asked with a slight scowl on his face.

"I went to this room to give him some onigiri but there was no one in it and the window was opened," Sakura said, worry taking over her entire body, "I mean…it's obvious! We haven't seen him in the whole afternoon and it's nearly nine, would you really think he'd stay up in his room the entire time?! **No!**"

"Haruno-san, calm down," Neji said, seeing how frantic the pink haired was getting, "He's old enough to take care of himself, so wherever he is I'm positive he's alright."

"But—" Naruto smiled at Sakura.

"Yeah, relax Sakura-chan," he said, "Teme can take care of himself."

Shikamaru sighed and went back to the living room mumbling a, "How troublesome."

"You should start getting ready for bed Haruno-san; we start the preparations for Saturday's activity tomorrow afternoon." Neji said before following Shikamaru to the living room. Naruto smiled once again at the pink haired and went to the kitchen.

Why weren't they worried? Aren't they his friends? What if he got kidnapped and he most definitely isn't "_alright_"? Or what if he didn't get kidnapped and still isn't "_alright_"? If he jumped out from the window rather than walk out the door then something must be wrong, and if her mentors weren't going to do something about it she was _most definitely _going to do so.

**::**

After changing into more comfortable clothing – faded green shorts, a grey Rolling Stones shirt mostly used for painting with a red jacket over it, and a pair of running sneakers – Sakura silently went to Sasuke's bedroom hoping none of the guys would caught her sneaking out.

She kneeled on the window frame, not daring to look down and jump to the tree, despite the fact that she wasn't much of a jumper.

'_Okay Sakura, three, two, one…'_ she inhaled and jumped as high as she could, landing with a small _thud _on the big trunk. She held tightly to the tree glad she hadn't fallen down and slowly began descending to the floor.

Once she was safely down, Sakura dusted herself off and carefully looked around, making sure no one was outside or had seen her sneak out. And with her heart bumping fast and waves of guilt and determination drifting through her mind, she started running towards nowhere in particular, hoping to find the boy she was positive she hated.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: Chapter six is finished! I really hope you guys liked everything that went on in the chapter, things are finally taking a turn and quite a lot of revelations are coming up alongside some drama. Sakura's first formal activity is also coming up and some big upgrades in the relationships. I honestly don't know when I'll be able to update next, but I'll try to make do it soon. **This chapter** wasn't beta read because I felt the _**huge**_ need to update, so I'm very sorry if there were any mistakes whatsoever.

**Please Review****, I'll REALLY appreciate it!** :D

_-Mary._


	7. Chapter 7

**The **Brainiac and** The **_Gentlemen_

* * *

"_You thought I would leave you down  
When the weight was too much,  
I will lift you from the ground.  
...still you push away."  
–_ Versant "Push Away".

* * *

His young onyx eyes watched the small tears forming in his mother's eyes and the scowl on his father's face at the news they were just given. He didn't fully comprehend the situation, but by his father's serious reaction he knew it was incredibly bad, not only for the family but for the company – it was _always _worse for the company.

Why did he leave? Why did he run away from his responsibilities? Did he ever really think of the consequences? Didn't he know that in the end his little brother was the one who would suffer?

Truth be told however, when he was told for the first time his older brother had run away he was quite happy; for the first time he would be the main priority in the family, the main priority to his father.

But now?

_He _is the one who ran away.

* * *

**7**

* * *

**9:05 p.m.**

Quick footsteps echoed through the empty and rather chilly streets of the night. A soft and cold wind rushed every now and then, picking up any leafs that laid on the street and dancing with them before taking them away.

Sakura had been running nonstop since she left the house and was nearly out of breath. She had no idea where she was going, but she _needed_ to go somewhere and at least do an attempt at searching for him.

Why did he run away? Why was his room so messy when she walked in? What's wrong with him?

'_Where are you Sasuke?'_, Sakura thought, biting her lower lip as her eyes searched frantically around the town.

* * *

**Age 10**

The company would always have formal events in the most extravagant places and his father would invite possible company partners to impress them and start negotiating.

Of course, because Sasuke was the youngest and _not _the heir to the fortune and the company, he would never be present when such things happened unlike his older brother. Sasuke was always in another table with his mother, rather far from his father, his brother and any other thing that had to do with the company.

"Come Sasuke, let's dance." Mikoto, his mother, suggested smiling. Sasuke looked at her extended hand and then at his father and brother as they talked with future company partners. He knew what was going on...it was another one of those events where he was just the other son, the other brother, nothing at all.

Mikoto noticed how Sasuke's eyes suddenly lowered, "Sasuke," she kneeled in front of him and stroke his cheek, "what's wrong sweetheart?"

"Why does tou-san hate me?"

Mikoto frowned at his direct question, knowing that what Sasuke was feeling was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Oh Sasuke, your father does not hate you, he really cares about you and is always looking out for you. He doesn't wish to involve you with all of the stress of the company, he only desires for you to grow up well." Mikoto lightly smiled.

She loved Sasuke more than anything in the world, he was her baby boy, her sweetheart, her everything, and if hiding the real reasons why Fugaku won't allow him to know anything about the company will make him smile and be happy, she will do it...

Sasuke looked at her straight in the eye, "Then why doesn't he prove it? Why does everyone say I'm not capable like Itachi?"

Mikoto frowned – too bad he always knew the truth.

* * *

**9:13 p.m.**

Sakura came to a halt in the middle of the empty street and took in some much needed air. A chilly breeze made her hair move wildly as she looked around franticly; she unconsciously zipped up her jacket and bit her lower lip. _Where the hell are you Sasuke?_

Sakura's heart started bumping abnormally fast, her hands got slightly sweaty and her body was overtaken by an incredible preoccupation for her onyx haired mentor. Her eyes moved franticly around the street and as far as her vision reached for any sign of him, but nothing. She needed to do something, anything that'll give her a lead of where to look.

Her eyes averted to a telephone-booth by the corner of the sidewalk and she knew who she needed to call.

**::**

Neji lowly sighed and closed the book, his eyes ached a little and a small headache had begun a few minutes ago. Naruto walked into the living room eating the last onigiri he had made.

"Hm, this is so good." He moaned, taking one last and big bite, "You should've eaten some Neji!"

Neji looked at Naruto with slight disgust, "Eat with your mouth closed Naruto." The blond swallowed and grinned apologetically before slumping on the loveseat. Neji looked at Shikamaru; he was sleeping on a corner of the room with a book covering his face.  
Naruto scowled a little before he frowned and looked at Neji, "Oi Neji, do you really think teme is alright?" he asked, "I mean, 'cause now that I think about it, it really _is _weird that he jumped out the window."

"Sasuke-san can take care of himself Naruto-san. Whatever his reasons for leaving without letting anyone know must be personal," Neji said, Naruto frowned and even though he knew Neji was right he felt incredibly worried about his best friend. "On the other hand however, where is Haruno-san?"

"Oh, she said she was going to sleep." Naruto said.

"At nine? That's odd," Neji said standing up and Naruto followed his actions, "She usually goes to sleep late."

Naruto followed Neji up the stairs, his heart bumping fast and hoping his pink haired friend was sleeping as she said she would. Everything was incredibly quiet upstairs, not a single sound could be heard. The gentlemen reached Sakura's door and looked at each other before swinging the door open.

"Shit!" Neji cursed and ran out to Sasuke's room.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto trailed off. His palms started to sweat as his senses slowly came back, he heard Neji calling his name from downstairs and he huffed before dashing out of Sakura's room and towards Neji for instructions.

* * *

**Age 12**

Chaos erupted in his household out of the blue. They strictly ordered him to go up to his room until he was told he could go out. He sat on his king sized bed staring at the floor unable to fully comprehend the reason why his father was furious and his mother was on the verge of tears.

His door opened and the maid that took care of him walked in with a tray.

"I brought your favourite snack Uchiha-san." She said, placing the tray next to him and faking a smile – he knew she was tired of following orders and specially of taking care of a _kid_, at least that's what she told her co-workers.

Sasuke jumped off the bed and looked at the maid; this one was a red-head with chocolate eyes and she spoke with a foreign accent. She looked back at him, wondering if he wanted something else and hoping he didn't.

"Maid," he said coldly, he never really knew their names, "You're fired." The red-head's smile dropped and she looked at him incredulously.

"_What_? You – you can't fire me!" She argued.

"I'm doing us both a favour maid," he said, walking past her and towards the door, "And yes, I _can_ fire you, I was the kid that owned you, remember?" And with that, he left the room and a speechless maid behind and went silently towards his father's office to eavesdrop.

* * *

**9:25 p.m. **

Her legs were aching badly and her chest was pleading for air. She had reached the park, just as Ino instructed her to do, and was heading towards the town's observatory.

**::**

_Sakura got inside the telephone booth and after dropping the coins she dialled Ino's cell phone number, hoping she'd know something. _

"_Hello, Yamanaka Ino, whose calling?" she answered cheerfully. _

"_Ino, it's Sakura, I need your help!" The pink haired said breathless, she heard Ino move several things._

"_Sakura, what's wrong?" _

"_Look, do you know any place Sasuke might be at? A favourite spot or something," she pleaded, "I figured you'd still remember something from your stalking days." _

"_I was NOT a stalker!" Ino yelled, "And, how about a strip club? Boys seem to like that."_

"_Ino, please…"_

_The blonde sighed and Sakura heard a few pages turning, "Well, we did find something interesting, it took us forever to find one of his guilty pleasures but hey, they can--"_

"_INO!" She was starting to feel irritated. _

"_Sheesh! The observatory, he seems to enjoy stargazing and all of that. Why do you ask anyway?"_

"_How do I get there?!" Sakura asked, ignoring Ino's question._

"_You can always go through the park, there's a road that leads to it," Ino gasp, "Oh my God Sakura, are you two going on a date?!"_

"_Okay, thanks, bye!" Sakura hung up the phone and dashed out towards the park._

**::**

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

"Naruto be quiet, people are sleeping." Neji scolded, preventing any kind of attention from the neighbours.

"How do you expect to find Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked scowling and highly worried, "What if something bad happened to her?! Do you _know_ what landlady-san may do to us if something happened to Sakura-chan?!" Neji stayed quiet, contemplating on Naruto's last comment and fearing its consequences – the landlady would simply kill them.

Shikamaru sighed, highly irritated by Naruto's loud voice, "Naruto, shut up. If we think that something bad happened to her we won't be able to do a proper search. Now, we all know she left to look for Sasuke, so the smart thing to do is to look for Sasuke and perhaps she'll be with him already."

"Yes, I agree." Neji nodded.

"But where can we find Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, looking from Neji to Shikamaru.

"At the only place he thinks we don't know he goes to," Shikamaru said, "The town's observatory." Naruto gasped in realization and Neji nodded, knowing they will definitely find him there and hopefully, their student as well.

**::**

The observatory was something magnificent to Sakura's eyes. It was located right at the top of a hill and it had an amazing view of both the town and the sky. There weren't many people in it now, but Sakura hoped Sasuke was one of the people remaining inside.

She walked inside and returned the smile of an old man that walked past her. She searched around with her eyes for a sign of any chicken hair, but again, nothing. Sakura licked her dry lips and continued walking to the doors by the back and took you to a large balcony.

An inevitable and surprising (to her) smile formed on her lips at the sight of the boy she was looking for. A wave of relief rushed through her body, he was sitting on one of the benches, looking at the city. She quietly walked towards him and although she figured he probably didn't want any company, the pink haired sat next to him without a sound and stared ahead at the thousand lights.

"I got very worried Sasuke…" she said quietly, unable to maintain the silence she figured he wanted, "I ran a lot, through the town, searching for you…" she continued, although she figured he wouldn't care, "I'm glad…I'm honestly very glad to know you're alright." She smiled at him, although she figured he wouldn't be grateful.

She lowly sighed and averted her eyes back to the city, enjoying for the first time Sasuke's company.

"She called…" Sakura turned to Sasuke, who spoke after a long silence, "My mother, she called…"

"Is that a bad thing?" Sakura asked confused.

"Yes." Sasuke said curtly, looking at her with sharp eyes. Sakura looked a bit taken aback; she didn't know what to say back and whether or not to ask why. Sasuke sighed and passed a hand through his hair, for the first time, Sakura could see real emotions on his face – frustration, anger, confusion.

"I ran away from my house about eight months ago and since then I haven't spoken with any of my family members. I knew they were still looking for me, but I never thought my mother would find out where I was staying," he said and scoffed, "Now she'll probably come here with my father and try to convince me to come back…"

Sakura bit her lower lip, "Why – Why'd you run away?" she stuttered, not knowing if she should be asking such personal questions to someone like Sasuke. He was a very private man, and if he got angry with her for asking that he might try to push her off the balcony – at least that's what Sakura thought he might do.

Sasuke looked at her and Sakura knew she had hit a personal spot. The look in his eyes told her that he didn't want to answer that question and yet he felt he could.

A long sigh escaped his lips, "I was twelve years old…"

* * *

**Age 12 **

The argument got louder as Sasuke stepped closer to his father's home-office. He seemed to be arguing with another man and like he saw earlier, his father was indeed furious. Sasuke leaned on the door carefully.

"I want you to find him, and want him back here by night!" His father yelled.

"B-But sir, we…" the man trailed off as Fugaku's loud and angry voice surpassed his.

"I said by _night_!"

"Ye-Yes sir!" Sasuke quickly moved to the wall as the door opened and three men in black suits ran out. Sasuke quietly moved and took a peek inside the office through the small crack the opened door left.

Fugaku was sitting on his seat behind the desk, massaging his temple and Mikoto stood by a wall, crying on her hands.

"Why did – Why did he run away Fugaku?" she cried, looking at her husband with pleading and worried eyes. Sasuke lowly gasped, _Itachi ran away?_

"I don't know Mikoto…I don't know…" Fugaku replied, looking at the desk with distant eyes.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mikoto said, her voice rising with anger, "You know perfectly well we he left – we both do! And it's because of you!"

Fugaku looked at his wife bewildered, "Because of _me_? You are blaming _me_ because of our son's reckless decision? If I did something, it was build an industry from nothing and bring food to the table!"

"You pushed him too hard!" Mikoto yelled back, tears streaming down her face, "He was a teenager, not an adult, he _needed_ to live without all of the _**YOUR**_ responsibilities!"

"**He** is the future heir to the company!" Fugaku yelled outraged, he slammed his hands on the desk, "…And if he does not return home by tomorrow, Sasuke will take over as future heir."

Mikoto gasped, "No…you can't, Sasuke is just a child!" she argued.

Fugaku looked elsewhere, avoiding eye contact with his wife, "My decision is final Mikoto, now please…I need to be alone…" Fresh tears spilled out of Mikoto's eyes and her lips trembled, she couldn't speak, she couldn't hold it any longer. She dashed out of the office, hoping she could catch up with the agents and find her eldest son.

Sasuke stood by the wall beside the door, watching the figure of his mother run down the hall. Itachi was gone, he couldn't handle so much work, he couldn't handle the pressure of being an heir to such a powerful company, and now Fugaku was going to name Sasuke as the heir. He was going to pay more attention to Sasuke; it was his turn to know about the company, his turn to learn the ways of his father. An inevitable smile formed on Sasuke's lips, despite the fact that his brother was gone.

He was now in the middle of his father's world.

* * *

"…it only took me three months to realize why Itachi had run away, but the stress and the intense responsibility seemed worth it as long as father looked at me as more than his other son. As I started getting older, the demands grew bigger and soon I found myself leading the company alone, so I eight months ago I decided I had enough of it and now…I'm considered an outsider, a betrayer…"

"Sasuke I…" Sakura trailed off when Sasuke shook his head.

"Save it," he said, "I'm not looking for your sympathy or consolation for my life."

Sakura's gaze slightly lowered, "I just never thought you had such a –"

"Everyone in the house has their own background," Sasuke interrupted, getting a bit tired of such a long conversation, "We are staying there for a reason."

Sakura stayed quiet, unable to think of any comment to say. He didn't want any consolation and she knew he probably wanted her to stay quiet.

"SAKURA-CHAN! TEME!" Sakura and Sasuke turned their attention to the loud blond at the entrance of the balcony. Neji and Shikamaru stood beside him looking rather relieved. Naruto ran to them and hugged Sakura tightly, "I'm so glad you didn't get raped!"

"_Naruto_!" Sakura gasped, smacking his head.

"I'm surprise you didn't hear him calling you miles away," Shikamaru said, "He was so loud."

"Like always." Sasuke smirked.

"**HEY!** Take that back!" Naruto scowled, Sakura chuckled.

Neji sighed, "An old woman threatened to call the police officers for Naruto's bickering; I had to talk her out of it with money." Naruto grinned.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, contemplating the conversation they had, and looked back at how Naruto told him what happened in a very dramatic way. She lightly smiled; perhaps Sasuke didn't want anything to do with his family due to the bad relationship they have and perhaps he was the way he was because of the things he's been through, but despite his coldness and rough life, Sakura knew that deep down the people around him, arguing with him and laughing with him were his brothers, the three people that share with him a rough past…his new family.

Sakura gasped and the guys looked at her, "A shooting star!" everyone's heads turned to the sky and saw several stars dashing by. Naruto's eyes immediately closed and Sakura followed after him, Neji had a rather distant look, Shikamaru kept staring at the sky admiring how marvellous it was that night and Sasuke lowered his gaze and stared down at his lap.

Sasuke turned his gaze to the pink haired sitting next to him as she opened her eyes. She lightly smiled at him, trying to hide the relatively small amount pity she felt for him and instead show him that everything will be alright. Sasuke turned his gaze back to the city and Sakura lowly sighed but followed his gaze.

* * *

_Dear Grandma, _

_I hope you're having a wonderful trip. There's an event this Saturday, and according to Neji-san it'll be my first formal event where the first things I've learned will be tested. But anyway, I'm not sending this email to tell you about the upcoming event, I just wanted to let you know that I'm beginning to notice that there's more to my mentors than meets the eye. _

_With Much Love, _

_Sakura. _

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: I am amazed by the fact that I _actually_ had time to finish this chapter! My life has been so hectic lately and I was beginning to get stressed by the fact that I haven't been able to finish a chapter I started months ago, haha. **Anyway**, I REALLY hope you liked this chapter, _lots_ of SasuSaku moments and we can see now how the story is starting to build up. (I was having a little problem edting the document, so some things that are meant to be centered may not be centered)

**Song**: "Push Away" by Versant.

**Please Review**, pretty please with a cherry on top of a chocolate cupcake; Reviews make me happy! :)

_-Mary._


	8. Chapter 8

**The **Brainiac and **The **_Gentlemen_

* * *

"_It just takes some time_

_Little girl you're in the middle of the ride_

_Everything, everything will be just fine_

_Everything, everything will be alright, alright"_

- Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle"

* * *

**7:10 a.m.**

Sakura sat on her bed cross legged, still wearing her pyjamas – cupcake boxers and a Beatles t-shirt while her hair was tied in a messy bun. The four gentlemen stood in front of her and for some odd reason, she felt intimidated. What were they going to do?

"Hm, did – did I do something wrong?" Sakura asked, "I mean if it's because of the onigiri I made last night, I'm terribly sorry if it tasted horrible…"

"Relax," Neji said, nodding to the other gentleman, immediately the three went to the girl's closet, "We'll just start the first part of your make over." He finished with a smirk.

Sakura's eyes widened, "The first what?! --" and before she could finish protesting, her mouth was covered and she was surrounded by her mentors.

And all Sakura could think of was how much the tweezers hurt and the fact that her transformation had started.

* * *

**8**

* * *

**7:30 a.m.**

_Why are they staring at me?_, Sakura thought, averting her eyes to the ground and trying to bury herself between her mentors.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked staring ahead, as he felt someone very near his back. He heard a muffle, but couldn't comprehend a single word, "Speak louder."

After a few seconds of silence he heard the pink haired, "…they are looking at me…" the mentors turned around to face Sakura, wondering what was wrong about that and unconsciously allowing everyone to fully see the girl. Immediate whispers erupted, some positive and others negative, but one thing Sakura was certain about is that _everyone_ was looking at her…and she didn't feel very comfortable about it.

They had reason to stare at her however, for she looked incredibly different in a very simple and yet attractive way. The gentleman decided to throw away her black pantyhose – more like burn them, but they decided not to make Sakura even madder – and instead give her knee high black socks that made her white as snow skin pop; they decided for her that she would _not_ wear her hair in a high ponytail that day because she needed versatility, and instead they simply let her long hair fall down her back and pushed off her forehead several strands with a slim white hairband decorated with a red flower on the side; and as for make up, the gentlemen expressed:

"_Do your daily make up as simple as it can be, use a little bit of blush that compliments your skin, some mascara to make your eyes pop a little and a light shade of lipsticks that doesn't make you look like a clown. The simpler, the better."_

And that's exactly what they did. And although the transformation was simple, the change was still there and it was quite noticeable, hence the reason why everyone around her is looking at her as if she had grown a second head _or _as if her hair had a weird colour.

Yet, despite all that feeling of discomfort, the only thing Sakura couldn't comprehend was how her mentors were _completely _straight – they were, weren't they?

Sasuke lowly sighed and continued to the uwabaki-locker room, thinking she was being silly and too self-conscious, Shikamaru followed behind him.

"Don't worry about that Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned, "You look great!" Sakura lightly blushed and smiled gratefully.

Neji took a step closer to the pink haired as Naruto walked away and handed her a small black box. Sakura wondered what might be inside and opened it, instant confusion filled her eyes.

"I figured many new things at once may discomfort you, so I went to the local market and bought a pair," Neji explained as Sakura took hold of new black reading glasses – the bell rang and students rushed inside – "I have yet to understand your reasons for wearing them despite the fact that you have no trouble with your vision, but if they make you feel a tad comfortable among new things I give you permission to wear them."

Sakura bit her lower lip, trying her best to keep the tears from falling, and slide them on, "Thanks Neji-san."

"However," He looked at her sharply, almost as if he was glaring, "When I say they go off, they _will_." Sakura responded with quick nods.

"Neji…?" Both teens turned to the source of the voice. A slim and pretty brunette with chocolate eyes stood by the door looking from Sakura to Neji questioningly, "Err, the bell already rang…"

Neji nodded and turned to Sakura, "Get to class." Sakura nodded and ran inside, lightly smiling at the girl when she passed her.

The brunette lightly chuckled, "You don't see pink hair every day, who was she?" she asked as Neji joined her.

"Haruno-san." Neji responded, calmly putting on his uwabaki. TenTen leaned against the lockers, her eyes set on the floor distantly and arms crossed around her chest.

"She was very pretty, eh?" Neji stared at the girl, wondering what she meant exactly, and she quickly regained her composure, "I mean, no wonder Lee has a _huge_ crush on her, right?!"

Neji shrugged and kept walking, "I suppose, although Lee is capable of having a crush on a broom if he sees it wearing a skirt and a wig." TenTen laughed.

"Well _someone's_ in a good mood today." She joked; Neji scowled but did not respond. He was indeed in a good mood and TenTen was pleased by that, very pleased, but it lightly scared her the reason behind his good mood.

_Is Haruno-san behind his good mood?_, TenTen wondered as they entered the classroom, _They _did _seem to be having a good conversation back there…_

The pink haired was indeed behind his good mood, but little did she know it was _not_ because of the reasons she fears.

Neji sat behind his desk and stared at the blackboard rather distantly, _The transformation is going rather well_, he thought very pleased.

* * *

Morning classes had gone by fast and to Sakura's liking rather well. She was rather surprised, and shocked, that Karin was nowhere to be seen and that she wasn't being bothered or looked down on – or so she thought anyway.

The halls were rather empty; everyone else was either in the cafeteria or outside enjoying the sunny day. She had to stay behind on Kurenai's request; the dark haired teacher explained to Sakura that she would go on maternity-leave in a few days while a new student was going to join their class in a week, "_It would be very nice of you if you help him catch up with the rest of the class." _

Sakura agreed, saying it was no problem, but really, when can you say "no" to a teacher?

_I wonder who the new student is_, Sakura thought as she headed to the roof, _If he's joining now then it means that his grades are fantastic. _

The pink haired opened the roof's door and saw her two friends eating their lunch on their usual spot. She greeted them and sat in front of them with her bento box on her lap. The sandwiches and onigiri Naruto made looked _delicious_.

"Damn forehead," said girl looked at Ino with some onigiri in her mouth, "Did they _**really**_ do that?!" Ino found incredibly astounding the fact that her mentors, the school princes and yet the strangest quadruple to have come together, could have such great sense of style.

"She looks lo-lovely Yamanaka-san." Hinata smiled gently.

Sakura swallowed the rest of her onigiri and smiled, "Thanks Hinata-chan, and for the tenth time Ino-pig, **YES**! _Those _four did this to me!"

Ino looked at the end of her hair and mumbled something about a new haircut.

"I think they did this because of Saturday's event--" Sakura was interrupted by Ino's gasp.

"Event?! What kind of event?" the blonde asked excitedly, her big blue eyes glued on Sakura's face awaiting her answer. _…kind of scary…_, Sakura thought, gulping a little, _I'm not even _that _excited_!

"Something about a tea party," Sakura lightly shrugged, grabbing the slice of sandwich, "I don't really know much about it." Hinata lowly gasped, getting the girl's attention.

"D-Do you mean The P-Puttock's Tea Party?" Hinata asked, Sakura nodded and Ino averted her eyes to the ground while she tried to pronounce the name she just said, "They are a very wealthy family from E-England, I think their son is the thirtieth to the c-crown,"

Ino snorted, "Twenty-nine people have to die for him to be king." Sakura laughed along before taking another bite from a sandwich – she was very hungry.

"They come here to hold their annual tea p-party but leave a day a-after. They are all v-very greedy and rather s-selfish though, _especially _the daughter." Hinata explained, sighing a little afterwards.

"_Great_, more selfish rich people," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, "Hey! Why don't you guys come with me?!" she smiled, knowing things would perhaps be better if the two went with her.

"Oh, but I _will_ go to the tea party," Hinata smiled, "My family gets invited every year." Sakura smiled excitedly and looked at Ino.

"Sorry, I can't go," she frowned, "I promised my parents I'd work at the flower shop on Saturday. I wish you the best of luck though! And hey, if there's trouble you have a group of _sexy_ guys ready for action!" she winked and giggled as a deep blush covered Sakura's cheeks.

"_**Ino**_!"

_Smack._

"**FOREHEAD**!"

* * *

**3:32 p.m.**

Sakura walked out of the uwabaki locker room, wondering where Shikamaru was. During class Sasuke told her that he was leaving ahead with Naruto and Neji, but that Shikamaru would stay behind to wait for her. She was curious onto why they would go ahead, but decided not to ask (she realized that questions and a lot of talking annoyed Sasuke)

The pink haired spotted Shikamaru against the gate looking rather bored and tired – as usual.

"Sorry to make you wait." Sakura said, Shikamaru shrugged back as they started walking away side by side. Her emerald eyes averted to the ground, _Now that I think about it,_ she thought,_ I haven't really had much of a conversation with Shikamaru _–the pink haired unconsciously looked at her mentor – _Then again, he _is _sleeping most of the time_.

"_Everyone in the house has their own background. We are staying there for a reason." _

_If what Sasuke said is true, then I wonder what Shikamaru's reasons are…_, she contemplated.

"Anything wrong with my face?" Shikamaru's voice interrupted Sakura's daze and the pink haired lightly blush, realizing she'd been staring this whole time.

"No, sorry for staring, I was…just thinking."

Shikamaru's eyebrow quirked, a hint of curiosity showing in his eyes, "About what exactly?"

"Err, well…" Sakura scratched the back of her head, looking for the right words, "Sasuke said something last night and – I mean, I was just thinking on how you're the least one I've gotten to talk with and stuff…" her voice trailed, thinking that Shikamaru would laugh in her face or think she was being silly.

"I see…" The dark haired boy responded, his gaze ahead.

"I mean, Naruto-kun is really nice and a great cook, Neji-san is really smart and very organized, Sasuke…well, he's cold and a little mean, but I'm sure he means well…in a sort of mean way, and you…" Sakura bit her lower lip, not wanting to make him feel bad, "A-All I'm saying is that I would like to get to know you as well…I'm sorry if I made you feel bad."

Shikamaru stayed silent, his eyes still ahead and nowhere near the pink haired. Sakura lowered her gaze, feeling rather embarrassed and wishing she hadn't said anything, perhaps then they would be having a normal conversation.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru suddenly sighed, "I like to play chess and I spend most of my day cloud gazing, which is why you don't see me around the house much, so don't think I'm avoiding you."

"Cloud gazing? Seriously?"

Shikamaru nodded in response, "It's a great way to relax and forget about everything, so don't judge it before you try it."

"Alright," Sakura said and smiled, "I'd like to cloud gaze with you one day." Shikamaru seemed rather surprised but he was certainly okay with the idea, perhaps his student wasn't so _troublesome _after all.

"Say, you don't have a clue onto why they left early, right?"

"I promised I would tell."

Sakura lightly pouted, "I see…can't you at least give me a clue?"

"No."

"_Please_ Shikamaru-san, _please_."

"Stop being so damn troublesome!"

Then again, to Shikamaru _all _woman were troublesome…all of them.

* * *

The sound of a ticking clock echoed through the spacious room, the light of the sun shone through the tall windows and a woman sat by one of them, watching the waves go back and fourth as she gently drank her cup of tea.

"More tea madam?" a maid asked.

"No thank you," the woman responded, "But can you please take out my favourite white dress? I'm afraid I must check if it still fits." She chuckled lightly, although her heart ached.

"Yes ma'am." The maid bowed and began walking out of the room.

"Oh, and Hitomi-san," the maid stopped at the sound of her name and faced the dark haired woman curiously, "Please call the Puttock's family and inform them I shall attend their tea party, thank you."

"Yes Mikoto-sama." The maid bowed once again and walked out of the room quietly.

Uchiha Mikoto looked out the window once again, asking herself how her sons were and whether or not her wish would come true.

* * *

**5:20 p.m.**

"Sit straight Haruno-san."

The pink haired did as told.

"Don't _slurp_!"

The pink haired, after an exasperated sigh, did as told and continued drinking the tea.

They were all in the backyard's deck. Sakura was sitting behind the round table while Neji stood beside her, watching what she did carefully and instructing her on what to change. The three remaining gentleman stood against the railing, watching the lesson with amusement.

"_Don't _cross your legs at the knee, it cuts your circulation and doesn't look very well when wearing a skirt, instead cross them at your ankles and slightly lean your legs to the side."

"Yeah, _Captain Neji_." Sakura responded through gritted teeth and did as told. Naruto lowly snorted, trying to keep in his laughter.

Neji scowled, "_Yes _not _yeah_." Sakura looked at him incredulously and huffed, turning to Shikamaru.

"You could've at least mentioned how strict he was going to be!" Sakura complained, "He's acting like a…a dictator! The dictator of etiquette!"

"You must **not **interrupt when someone is speaking," Neji responded, trying his best to maintain his cool, "And sit straight!"

Sakura licked her lips, telling herself to calm down, "Yes…dictator of etiquette." She added lowly and Naruto burst in laughter, Sasuke smirked, very amused by the situation.

"That's it!" Neji said and pointed to Sasuke, "Teach her how to waltz!"

Sakura's eyes widened and Sasuke's amusement was lost.

"No one said I had to dance," Sakura said, "Especially with _him_!"

"Yeah Hyuuga, since when did I become her dance partner?" Sasuke asked, staring straight at Neji's eyes.

"Since Naruto doesn't know," – "Hey!" – "Shikamaru is too lazy and I need some headache pills, thus making me not available to teach her. Plus, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we finish today's lessons and we go and do our own things," Neji explained, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need some pills."

With a deep sigh, Sasuke walked over to his student and reached out his hand. Sakura's heart started beating a bit fast and she thought it was inevitable for her to be a bit nervous; it was her first dance lesson after all. The look of impatience in Sasuke's face made her lightly push the chair away from the table and carefully take hold of his left hand.

Naruto pushed the _'play_' button on the stereo and a soft piano started playing.

"Stand on your tiptoes, as if you were wearing high heels, and with your back straight," Sasuke said, Sakura nodded and did as told. She found it difficult to look him straight in the eyes – she came, once again, to the conclusion that it's because she was nervous…it was her first dance lesson after all.

"Place your left hand on my right shoulder," Sakura obliged while Sasuke place his right hand on the middle of her back, lightly pulling her forward, "Just follow my lead, think of it as if we were making a square."

Sasuke slowly moved his left foot forward and his right foot followed to the "other corner of the square". Sakura kept her gaze on their feet, afraid she was going to stumble upon his.

"Don't look down." Sasuke ordered. Sakura slowly looked up and stared directly at his eyes.

She found it rather difficult to find any emotion in his onyx orbs, even when she knew there were _some _hidden in there…somewhere. Yet she understood, up to a point, why he was the way he was, but it was inevitable for the rosette to constantly wonder why it was so difficult for him to open up more and to be less mean and cold towards people – _her_.

"Sorry." She quickly mumbled when she stepped on his foot. Sasuke lowly grunted but kept quiet, thinking that it'll be over soon.

Sakura knew this was the last thing he wanted to do, and she shared the same feelings, all of this "_fast heart beat" _and "_avoiding eye contact" _were symptoms of being completely nervous – it was her first dance lesson, after all. But he could be a bit more gentle; _it's Sasuke I'm talking about here _– that thought saddened her however, and _that_ surprised her.

A soft breeze flew by, moving the girl's hair and school skirt gently as she tried to keep up with her mentor. The sun slowly descended in the background and a few starts were becoming visible to their eyes. Neji walked out and watched the two teens dance. He saw Sakura saying something to Sasuke but it wasn't very audible, whatever she said however, must've made the onyx haired too uncomfortable or mad for he stopped dancing and walked inside without a word.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, stopping the music – which suddenly awoke a sleeping Shikamaru – and looking at a dumbfounded Sakura.

"…I'm not sure," she answered, "I just asked him who taught him how to dance." Neji sighed and massaged his temple.

"Don't worry about Sasuke-san," he said, "He's just worried about Saturday."

**::**

Sasuke quickly made his way to his room and locked the door. He couldn't do it.

**::**

"Worried about Saturday? Why?" Sakura asked confused, Naruto and Neji looked at each other. "_So?!_"

"Don't look at me," Shikamaru said, his voice rather rusty, "I'm as confused as you are."

"There's a very high possibility that Teme will see his mother on Saturday's tea party." Naruto said, lowly sighing. Sakura's eyes widened a little.

"But there's still a possibility that she won't attend, right?"

"Indeed," Neji nodded, "But Uchiha Mikoto is a close acquaintance of Mrs. Puttock, it wouldn't be nice of her to decline the invitation."

**::**

What if she really went?

**::**

_I guess she's the one who taught him how to dance_.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: There you go! **Next chapter**: _The Puttock's tea party_. I very much hope you enjoyed this chapter, Sasuke is still not over the fact that his mother knows about his whereabouts and soon the "_**Neji Background Arc**_" will start, :).

Every character will have a couple of chapters dedicated to them and their background, or the reason why they ended in that mansion. At some point, Sasuke's arc is going to come to a halt (which will happen very soon) and a new arc will take place (possibly Neji's) and as the story keeps progressing we'll return to Sasuke's arc.

**Song: **"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World.

**Please Review**!! :)

_-Mary._


	9. Chapter 9

**Please Read: **There will come a point in the chapter where conversations in _Italic _and normal font will appear at the same time, please remember that those in _ITALIC _represent the past/or flashbacks and those with NORMAL font represent the present.

**::**

**The **Brainiac and **The** _Gentlemen_

* * *

"_Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright  
__The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same  
__Oh, don't you hesitate."  
_- Corinne Bailey Rae, "Put Your Records On"

* * *

**Saturday, 9:00 a.m.**

Sakura walked hazily down the stairs; her shirt was slightly wrinkled and her hair was untied and rather messy. She had woken up ten minutes earlier, unable to keep sleeping due to her anxiousness.

She walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Naruto eating a bowl of ramen.

"Ramen at nine in the morning?" Sakura asked, amused and rather disgusted.

Naruto slurped and swallowed before grinning, "Of course Sakura-chan! Morning ramen is the best ramen!" Sakura lightly shook her head, unable to understand the boy's infatuation with the dish. She walked to the refrigerator and took out some orange juice, knowing Naruto will cook breakfast once he's finished.

"Why are you up so early anyway?" She asked.

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, "When my body says '_system shut down_' I instantly go to sleep, and when it decides to wake up it does." Sakura chuckled and sat on one of the stools.

Naruto threw the bowl of instant ramen on the trash can and went to make breakfast for everyone; he decided he'd make Cinnamon Toast, the quickest thing to make. Sakura watched silently as Naruto cooked and complained with ease.

"Hey Naruto-kun," The blonde turned at the sound of his name, "I'm a little anxious about today."

"Why Sakura-chan?" he asked confused.

"This is my first formal event and I'm a bit scared that I won't live up to your expectations or mess up while we're there." Sakura responded.

"Don't worry about that Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled and gave her a thumbs up, "I'm sure you'll do just fine, so relax! – _oh_, **shit**!" Naruto quickly turned around, realizing the food was burning.

Sakura lightly sighed and smiled. _Yeah, it's just my nervous talk_. She looked out the window, hoping it was indeed _just _her nervous talk.

* * *

**9**

* * *

**11:35 a.m.**

The lights were turned off and only sunlight lighted the room. A deep silence roamed around the room, barely breaking its dull and cold atmosphere. Sasuke stood in front of a mirror starting at his reflection with stoic and serious eyes as he tied his thin black tie without a single sound erupting from his mouth.

He had spent most of the night unable to sleep, contemplating the situation he was getting himself into or possibly out of – _for how long anyway?_

If he _did _go – _I will _– if she _did _go – _she will_ – if they _did _meet each other – _we will_ – would she try to convince him to go back? – _she will_ – would she tell his father they met? - _…perhaps_ – would he accept the chance to prove he's not a coward, a traitor and _not _like his brother? - _…_

His door opened just as she finished buttoning the black waistcoat and Naruto stepped in, wearing a black two piece suit.

"How do I look?" the blonde asked, obviously thinking he looked e_xtremely _**hot**.

"Like a dobe."

Naruto scowled and deeply glared at his best friend before looking in the mirror with pride, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that word _teme_, but instead the words _incredibly awesome_!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and put his cell phone inside his pocket.

"Are you two ready?" Neji asked taking a peek inside, he was wearing a black three piece suit, "Shikamaru is already downstairs, it seems Sakura is the only one left to finish preparing."

"Does she look pretty Neji?!" Naruto asked eagerly, as he was being shooed off the room by Sasuke.

"I don't know," Neji said and looked at his wrist watch as they headed for the stairs, "But she should be finishing by now."

Shikamaru stood by the end of the stairs wearing only a long sleeved white buttoned shirt and black pants. The sudden change in his facial expression – wide eyes and completely dumbfounded – made the three gentlemen descending the stairs stop and turn around, only to find themselves with the very same expression the dark haired has.

Haruno Sakura, the girl that had walked in wearing a baseball tee with red Moon Boots was standing in front of them wearing Christian Louboutin red round toe platform heels of soft suede and a gorgeous tea length medium red tulle dress that hugged her upper body gently and opened in a full skirt from her waist.

The dress was made of taffeta liner with tulle overlay, in which floral designs made of velvet with subtle red glittery sparkles on it were sewed on. Little velvet bows on the shoulder straps and one in the back bustle area made the dress more elegant that it already was.

Her long pink haired was tied in a messy side bun and a few strands framed her face. Her eyes had a hint of black eyeliner and her cheeks had a small hint of light pink blush, her lips were painted with clear and glossy lip-gloss.

"See Neji…" Naruto spoke, his eyes still on Sakura, "She _does _look pretty." The pink haired blushed, feeling rather embarrassed with how elegant she looked at the moment.

"You really think so?" She asked, looking at her fellow mentors, who (except one) nodded in return. Sakura smiled and started descending the stairs to get to them; extremely proud she could walk in those shoes.

"**KYAAA!!**"

…well, she w_as _proud.

The pink haired fell on her bottom on the second step she took and the gentlemen quickly rushed to her aid, making sure she was alright.

"Promise me you won't let me make a fool of myself there." She said to all of them breathless as she stood up, a deep blush covering her cheeks. They all silently agreed and helped her down the stairs, before they walked out and onto a black Chrysler 300C payed by Sakura's grandmother…without her consent.

* * *

_**You're cordially invited to The Puttock's Tea Party**_

**12:15 p.m.**

The sun shined its brightest high in the sky and the day seemed almost perfect. The Brainiac and the Gentlemen were parked by the entrance of the botanical garden, all still inside their car; Neji on the driver's seat, Sasuke on the passenger's seat and the three remaining on the back with Sakura in the middle.

"Haruno-san, remember you're here as your grandmother's representative. Puttock-san is a fan of her many books and excellent medical abilities, so don't make her look bad." Neji explained, Sakura nodded in response wondering why she'd make her grandmother look bad – _Because she tricked me into coming to her house to watch over it when it reality it was to live with guys that will turn me into a lady…? _

"Yeah, don't worry." Sakura said.

A nerve pinched Neji, "_Yes_, Haruno-san, **not **yeah," Sakura chuckled apologetically, "Now, stay inside until we open the door for you." And with that said, the four gentlemen stepped out of the car.

"Okay Sakura, this is it…" she told herself, watching the shadow of the guys. Her heart was pounding abnormally fast and her palms were rather sweaty, she _knew_ the colour had drained from her face and she was positively sure that there was no turning back.

Neji opened the door while Sasuke (reluctantly) extended his hand, Naruto stood next to Sasuke while Shikamaru stood next to Neji. Sakura inhaled deeply and took Sasuke's hand, slowly stepping out of the car. Camera flashes slightly blinded her view and people that were entering the botanical garden turned to look at her, most with wondering eyes.

"Paparazzi's?" Sakura said questioningly as they passed by them.

"The Puttock's enjoy the attention; it is quite common for them to call camera crews whenever they hold an event." Neji explained lowly.

Big vine gates were opened for them and closed once they stepped in. Two wide oval staircases led to a stone floor where a long pergola stood, beautiful vines and flowers twisting on its roof. Behind the pergola was the rest of the massive botanical garden; big fountains, beautiful flowers, mazes. A small orchestra under the pergola played soft music and Sakura was astounded by the amount of people that had attended.

Naruto and Shikamaru went ahead downstairs; the blonde with the quest to find if there was any ramen, and the dark haired wondering if he could find a nice spot somewhere in the garden – elegant parties weren't much of his thing.

"You should not hesitate to mingle a little Haruno-san, we'll be around if you need us." Neji said before going down the stairs.

_Mingle? How can I mingle with them? I don't know what to talk about!, _Sakura thought a bit panicked.

"Be warned," Sasuke's voice made Sakura jump a little, she had forgotten he was standing next to her, "If they get a chance, this people will eat you alive."

Sakura instantly scowled, "Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

"No." He responded flatly before descending the stairs without a word. Sakura huffed and followed him, trying her best to not fall again.

**::**

_What's up with this people? _

Sakura's emerald orbs roamed slowly around the crowd. Almost everyone held in their hands a delicate glass of champagne while they chatted with equally wealthy people. The pink haired walked over to one of the many tables filled with appetizers and browsed for anything that seemed _normal_.

"Oh my," She looked at the two middle aged woman next to her as they chatted with each other, "Have you tasted this marvellous cheese?" The other woman shook her head and ate a piece of the cheese.

"How exquisite!" she beamed and they looked elsewhere, giving the pink haired a chance to take a piece of cheese.

"Of course it's exquisite, it's Caciocavallo Podolico! The most expensive and rarest cheese in the world," – _It's just cheese_, Sakura thought as she chewed it – "I believe it's worth around five-hundred dollars _per_ pound—" the woman stopped chatting and turned around at the sound of choking, only to find a pink haired slapping her chest as she tried to swallowed.

_**F-Five hundred dollars?!?!**_

The two ladies stared at Sakura with a hint of disgust as the girl regained her composure. They started walking away, one of them mumbling something about manners and wondering where she came from.

Sakura let out a deep sigh, asking herself how the others were doing.

**::**

Naruto pouted as he looked around yet another table of appetizers and to his dismay he couldn't spot one single bowl of ramen.

"What kind of party is this?" He asked, not caring if he was voicing his thoughts, "There's no ramen!" The waiter behind the table smiled, shaking his head before he smiled yet again at the guest that stood next to the blond.

"May I help you miss?"

The blue eyed averted his eyes to his right and gasped, "Hinata-chan!"

"Naruto-kun!" the girl exclaimed, her breath suddenly disappearing. She was fully aware of the chances of meeting him here, and yet it was inevitable for her to be breathless every time she looked at his vibrant blue eyes.

"Whoa Hinata-chan, you look as pretty as Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned. Hinata's cheeks turned into a scarlet red – Naruto actually complimented her, this was something she would never forget, _**ever**_.

"T-Thank you Na-Naruto-kun." She managed to speak and smiled, lightly grasping the full skirt of her white tea length dress. Her long dark indigo hair was kept loose with a few strands from the front tied to the back by a diamond ribbon and her feet were in peep toe high heels of a lighter shade of her hair colour with an asymmetric bow on the front.

Naruto kept browsing around the table, disappointed he couldn't find any ramen. Hinata bit her lower lip, not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste – _Come on Hinata, you can do it, don't be a coward!_

"So, a-are you enjoying the party?" she managed to ask her crush.

"I suppose," Naruto shrugged, "But I can't find any ramen here, and that my friend, is just wrong!" Hinata giggled, Naruto, although disappointed by the sad truth, smiled, "How about you Hinata-chan? Are you having a good time?"

"I suppose," she responded, "W-We mostly attend this for politeness." _But now that you're here Naruto-kun, I'm really enjoying it, _she thought smiling. Naruto stayed quiet, he looked as if he was contemplating something and the pearl eyed girl wondered curiously what was going through his mind.

"Oi Hinata-chan!" he suddenly beamed, "Why don't we dance?!" Hinata's eyes widened and her cheeks gained an immense amount of colour. Her mind screamed "_Yes! Yes! Yes!" _but words were unable to leave her lips and for a second she forgot how to breath.

"What do you say?" Naruto asked. Hinata, still unable to speak properly and beginning to feel slightly light headed, lightly nodded. Her blond crush grinned widely and grasped her hand before leading her to the dancing area, unaware he was about to dance with a semi-unconscious girl.

**::**

The sound of the orchestra was rather distant, the more Sasuke walked into the maze, the less he could hear it. The first thing he did when he stepped off the car was look for any traces of his mother, but alas, he had found none. Perhaps she decided to not attend the tea party this year.

He could see the outline of a tree in the middle of the maze. _Why am I here anyway? _

For the past ten minutes he found himself walking without any destination in mind and he couldn't find anything reasonable for walking through that maze. _Who cares?_, he thought as he slowly strolled down the many paths with his hands inside his pockets. He silently hoped he wouldn't find anyone around the maze, sharing the space with someone else would be incredibly irking.

The onyx haired took a turn with semi-closed eyes and found himself staring straight at the big cherry blossom. He lightly wondered how he managed to get to the center of the maze with such ease, but his thoughts were interrupted from further contemplating when he realized he was not alone.

There was a woman sitting under the tree, giving him her slim back. She was dressed in a body hugging white dress with a garden hat above her long dark hair. The woman felt a presence behind her and she turned around.

Onyx eyes met equal coloured eyes.

And Sasuke understood why he walked in the maze and why he had found the center with such ease. This was one of his mother's favourite spot.

**::**

The song finished playing and the two teens stared at each other, one with love and the other with obliviousness. The people around them kept dancing another round of waltz.

"You're a really good dance Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, a bit embarrassed by the fact that he stepped on her a few times. Hinata lightly blushed and giggled.

"T-Thank you Naruto-kun, you dance well too." She said smiling.

"My, oh my, if it isn't Hinata-_san_." Both teens turned to the source of the voice and met a brown eyed girl – Emily Puttock.

"Puttock-san…" Hinata responded softly, lowering her gaze from the British beauty. She was dressed in a soft sheer peach dress with flora appliqués around the waistband and golden pump platform heels, her medium length dirty blonde hair was curled.

"Who do we have here?" Emily asked, eying Naruto with flirtatious eyes, "Your boyfriend?"

"N-No…" Hinata said, lightly blushing.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" The blue eyed boy said cheerfully, giving Emily his best smile.

Emily chuckled and extended her hand, waiting for the boy to shake it or kiss it, "I'm Emily Puttock," But alas, Naruto never shook it _or _kissed it and thus she retrieved while clearing her throat, "Enjoying the tea party?"

"Err, it's okay," Naruto said, shrugging casually, "There isn't any ramen though."

"Ramen?" Emily said, knowing she'd heard of that before…somewhere…perhaps in a commoner television show, "I'm afraid that's not part of the menu, but if you'd like to…" – _is it food or a drink? _– "have it so much then I can _personally _speak with the chef and do one _just_ for you." She winked.

Hinata quickly looked at Naruto, hoping he wouldn't fall under Emily's charms. Ever since they met for the first time a couple of years ago, she'd always try to have whatever Hinata did, which is something the pearl eyed girl never understood.

"Fancy ramen? Seriously?!" Naruto exclaimed, Emily nodded back smirking. Naruto looked at Hinata with pleading eyes, "Can I go Hinata-chan? I've never taste fancy ramen before!"

Hinata tried her best to hide the frown that had ceased her lips, even when she knew he decided to go because of the "_fancy ramen_" and not because of Emily Puttock, she was still sad because _he decided to go_. But who was she to tell her crush to not go?

She smiled, "Go N-Naruto-kun." Said boy cheered and took hold of Emily's wrist, dragging her to wherever the chef was.

Hinata stared sadly at the hand that Naruto had ceased while dancing.

_That's right, I'm no one_…

* * *

"_Mother, where are you?!" called a ten year old Sasuke, a bit frightened by the tall leaf walls. _

"_In here sweetheart." He heard his mother's voice close by, but he couldn't see her anywhere. The young boy had yet to comprehend why she had suddenly decided to spend the day outside and run to the maze after telling him to catch her. _

_He could hear the sound of water rushing as the wind lightly picked up. He kept walking at a relatively slow pace, not wanting to get lost once again. He finally made it to a clearing in the middle of the maze and on the edge of the fountain sat his mother, looking at the clear water distantly. _

"_Mother…?" _

"Sasuke…"

"…" he averted his eyes to the ground. He knew tears were falling down her face, he felt how she slowly got closer to him, with her hand reaching out to him, and as she tightly pulled him into an embrace he knew that despite all the suffering he had caused her, she forgave him.

"_Come here," Mikoto smiled sweetly, reaching her hand out to Sasuke's as he walked over to her. She held his hand tightly and looked up at the clear blue sky, "This is one of my favourite places in the whole garden."_

"_Why?" _

_Mikoto lightly shook her head and smiled at her son, "I don't exactly know, I just like it here. It's place where I can come and not be bothered by anything or anyone, as if these walls around me are blocking away all the problems."_

Sasuke stayed silent as she sobbed in his chest, her arms wrapped protectively around him. Embracing her with that same amount warmth seemed unknown to him, but nevertheless he slowly wrapped his arms around her as well.

"I'm so glad…" Mikoto cried, "So glad you're safe!"

"…"

Mikoto slowly pulled away from the embrace and touched Sasuke's cheeks, staring deeply into his eyes, "He doesn't know."

"Father…?"

Mikoto nodded, "He doesn't know I've found you," she took a step backward and lightly sighed as new tears formed on her eyes, "I love him, with all my heart! But I just couldn't take it anymore; I had to leave the house as well Sasuke, I _had _to."

"Where are you staying now?" Sasuke asked.

"At our beach house," Mikoto responded, "He knows I'm there. We had an argument before I left the house and I told him what I was going to do, hoping he would realize what he has right in front of him," she lowered her gaze sadly, wrapping her delicate arms around her waist, "…It's been four months, and he's still blind."

Sasuke lightly scoffed, "The only way father will do that is if reality slapped him right across the face, and apparently two sons "missing" and his wife leaving the house aren't enough to do that."

Mikoto let out a small sigh before gently smiling once again at her son. However, no smile, no matter how big it was, could hide the pain she was feeling inside – and Sasuke was fully aware of that.

"Sasuke…" Mikoto began, "Are you coming back? …to me."

Sasuke averted his gaze to the ground once again. If he _did _go, what would happen?

**::**

Sakura found herself in the middle of a conversation none other than Mr. and Mrs. Puttock, their son and several acquaintances of theirs. They were all sitting in a round table with a beautiful (and most positively expensive) centrepiece, all drinking equally expensive tea from more expensive tea cups.

"These tea cups are straight from China," Mr. Puttock said – _gloated_ – "I can't say how much they're worth, but they were a fortune…_trust me_." And as if that was the funniest joke in the world, everyone around Sakura laughed and the pink haired followed behind awkwardly.

"Do you like them? I personally helped my father picking them." Erick Puttock asked her, leaning in a little too close for the girl's comfort. He's brown eyes seemed as if they were able to look right through her.

"Yea– _Yes_, they're very beautiful." She said, admiring the designs on the cup rather than the boy beside her.

"Tell me Sakura, how is your grandmother?" Mrs. Puttock asked.

"She's doing well, thank you for asking," Sakura responded, "Travelling the world and meeting up with old friends."

"Oh, that sounds lovely! Right, dear?" Mrs. Puttock asked her husband, who nodded in return.

"I'm positive she's having a marvellous time."

Sakura giggled, "Let's just hope she doesn't end up in Las Vegas marrying a stripper!"

Everyone in the table stayed silent and stared at the pink haired as she continued laughing at her joke, soon however, her giggles faded.

"Must be a commoner joke!" Mr. Puttock said and everyone burst in laughter, once again, as if it were the funniest thing _**ever**_. Sakura stared incredulously at everyone, trying her best to keep her temper as low as possible.

"Sakura," the pink haired turned to Erick, smiling _very _sweetly – in a completely sarcastic way – "Would you like to dance?"

"Hm, okay…" she responded, taking hold of his hand, "Forgive me if I'm not a good dancer."

"I doubt a lady as beautiful as you could not be a good dancer," He said, putting a hand behind her waist as they started to dance, "Have I mentioned that I'm in line for the throne of my country?"

_Only for the fifth time on the last fifteen minutes, _Sakura thought but smiled sweetly, remembering what her best friend said several days before.

"Don't twenty-nine people have to die for you to be king?"

The teens stopped dancing and Erick looked at her in disbelief while Sakura held her composure with her eyes straight to his. She was tired of people looking down on her just because she was a _commoner_ and tired of so much showing off and the pathetic dry superiority they showed.

"W-What did you just say?"  
"That I dislike people who think status is everything." Sakura said. Erick narrowed his eyes deeply and took hold of her wrist, making sure no one saw what was going on.

"How _dare _you, a mere commoner, make fun of me," he hissed, his grip on her wrist tightening, "I can—"

"**KYAAAA!!**"

A loud scream echoed through the whole garden, stopping the music and catching everyone's attention. From a small building emerged Emily Puttock drenched in soup and noddles, her curls were gone and the peach dress had dark steins all over it. Naruto ran out of the building with two closed bowls in hand.

"I'm so sorry Emily-chan!" He said apologetically. The girl glared at the blond and slapped him across the face, before running off and away from the crowd. Naruto stood on the same spot, dumbfounded – he apologized for accidentally dropping a bowl of ramen on her, why did she slap him?

_Girls_, he thought shrugging, before walking onto the dance floor and spotting Sakura with Erick.

"Hey Sakura-cha—…" he looked down at his hold on her thin wrist, "What are you doing to Sakura-chan?"

Erick loosened his grip on Sakura's wrist startled and tried to avoid direct eye contact with Naruto's electric blue eyes. Sakura rubbed her wrist gently, noticing its redness. The British boy took a step back, only to bump his back into Shikamaru and Sasuke's chest.

"What were you saying you were going to do to her?" Neji asked, taking a step next to Sakura. Erick looked at the boys surrounding him panicked.

"I-I wa-was just…" he stuttered, slowly moving out of the circle, "About to apo-pologize to Sakura." He bowed before quickly dashing away from the dance floor.

"What a prick," Naruto said, deeply glaring at the boy's back, "Did he hurt you Sakura-chan?"

"I'm fine Naruto-kun," Sakura smiled, "My wrist is a little red, but that's about it really. Thank you for sending him away."

Shikamaru sighed, "Some wealthy people are not worth leaving that great spot I found. Excuse me." He turned his heel and calmly walked away from the crowd and towards the garden. Neji silently agreed, rather bored by the constant chatter of Mr. Puttock – it seemed like he enjoyed talking about the new China tea cups.

"Oi! Guys! Wait for meee!" Naruto yelled and dashed after them, holding the two bowls of ramen tightly.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, wondering if he would go as well, but he looked behind his shoulder as a woman walked up to them. She looked incredibly beautiful; slim figure, long onyx hair and dark gentle eyes. Sasuke stared at her silently.

_Is that…?_

"I can't…" Sasuke said, "At least not now."

Sakura, confused, looked at the woman's expression. After letting out a bit of air, she lightly smiled at him and pulled him into a hug.

"I understand." She responded and kissed his cheek. They stared at each other once last time, before Sasuke started walking away, on the same direction the other three gentlemen took. Sakura looked once again at the onyx haired woman and she gently smiled at her.

"Sakura." The rosette lightly jumped at the sound of her name, and saw Sasuke looking back at her, waiting for her to follow as well. She lightly nodded at the woman before walking quickly to Sasuke's side.

Mikoto watched her son and his pink haired companion retreat to where the other three went. Although she wanted more than anything to have her sons back by her side, she couldn't help but to smile, knowing her baby boy was _just fine_.

* * *

_Dear Grandma, _

The brainiac and the gentlemen sat on a small hill right across a big flower field, admiring the beauty displayed right in front of them. Not wanting to ruin the dress she was wearing, Sakura smacked Naruto onto putting his jacket on the grass so she could seat on it.

_My first event was rather…interesting. A lot of things happened and plenty of things were said. Quite honestly, I don't really understand how The Puttock's can be such close acquaintances of yours and I sincerely hope I don't see them at any of your events. _

Hinata sat on her family's round table, smiling at the bowl of ramen she found right in front of her seat. She held the small note (written on a napkin) close to her heart; "_Sorry if I made you feel bad Hinata-chan, hope you like this fancy ramen!"_

_I hope you're doing just fine on your trip, I assure you that everything here is under control. _

Sakura found herself in the middle of four gentlemen who "rested their eyes". She looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed, lightly smiling afterwards.

_With love, _

_Sakura_

_p.s. I do hope you're not married to a stripper. _

Their picture perfect moment, however, was ruined by the automatic sprinklers.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

A/N: Fastest update I've done **EVER**! I _do _hope you enjoyed this chapter; I tried to make it as amusing as possible. Thank you all VERY much for all the wonderful reviews! I'll try to update as soon as I can! :)

Questions:

- "_**I really do pity the offspring's of the Puttock family, because if someone were to accidentally hear the name wrongly, then it would be mistaken as "Buttock". Did you plan it for this purpose?**_" – by _SnowCharms_

Haha, to be honest, that never really crossed my mind. I typed on _Blackle_ "English Surnames" and I found Puttock, which apparently meant "greedy" (reason why I chose it). :D

If you guys have any more questions, feel free to ask them! :D

Again, thank you very much for the reviews! I really do appreciate them! - **If you go to my profile, you'll see some pictures of the dresses and shoes. **

**Please Review!** Let me know what you thought of the chapter.

_With love,  
__Mary._


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